At the Green Transportation Summit and Expo, the founding members of the PZEVF set forth the vision of coordinating to facilitate the transition to ZEV for all vehicles in the nation.
Representatives from multiple automobile giants, including Volvo Group, PACCAR, Navistar, and Daimler Truck, shared a vision for transition to zero-emission vehicles of medium and heavy duty. They brought this vision at the Green Transportation Summit and Expo panel.Â
In this regard, the vice president of government and public affairs of the Volvo Group of North America said that ZEV commercial vehicles are in production and used in multiple applications. However, there are technologies other than OEM innovation that the ZEV transition relies on. Thus, the nation must prioritize a coordinated strategy to get these vehicles on the road.
These four OEMs were the founding members of a growing coalition of stakeholders called Partners for a Zero Emission Vehicle Future (PZEVF). According to this coalition, the ZEVs are the future of commercial transportation. Other members of the PZEVF include private operators, trucking associations, and other stakeholders committed to meeting the economic and environmental goals of the MHD ZEV.Â
At the expo, the panel discussed the benefits of this coordination, the significance of point-of-sale incentives, the challenges the electric utilities face, etc. The panel members pointed out the example of California as a leader in adopting ZEV goals.Â
The OEM representatives admitted that there were a lot of challenges along the way. However, they were staunch that they could achieve commercial truck fleets with the assistance of collaboration among all the public and private stakeholders. In the view of Kevin Otzenberger, the product marketing senior analyst of Daimler truck, the nationwide transition to ZEV is inevitable for the consumers, the policymakers, and the OEMs.Â
The Volvo group applauded the adoption of the Inflation Reduction and the Infrastructure Investment Jobs Act, which will provide substantial support to the infrastructure deployment and heavy duty zero emission vehicles.