Electric Trucks: Only Advantages

São Paulo – In the 18th century, the interior of the captaincy of São Paulo already produced sugar, spirits, flour, cotton, and other goods that had to be transported not only to the Midwest of the country but also to the capital and the coast through paths that had originally been opened by indigenous people. The provisions gathered in the forests of São João de Atibaia, Nazareth, Jaguari, now Bragança Paulista, and other regions in the Serra above were always carried on the backs of mules, using enslaved labor. In the following century, with the development of coffee cultivation, animals were still used for cargo transportation for many years, which only began to diversify with the opening of the railway between Petrópolis and Rio de Janeiro in 1854. In 1859, the first animal-drawn tram appeared, replaced in 1862 by a steam-powered one, and in 1892 by electric trams, which ran on the tracks of Brazilian cities at least until the 1970s. In Brazil, the replacement would still be slow, and animal-drawn trams could still be seen on the streets until the second decade of the 20th century. The first gasoline-powered car would be launched in 1886 but would only arrive in Brazil in 1893. Since then, the replacement of animal-drawn transportation by gasoline-powered vehicles was gradual, until the time of President Juscelino Kubitschek’s government (1956-1961), with the establishment of the automobile industry, when Brazilians were encouraged to choose road transportation for both people and cargo. Since then, the government has worked on building roads. Today, the road network is estimated, according to a survey by the National Confederation of Transport (CNT), at 110,000 kilometers of paved roads, which represent only 13% of the total, estimated at 1.7 million kilometers, according to the National Department of Transportation Infrastructure (DNIT). More than 60% of goods and over 90% of passengers travel on this road network. The vehicle fleet, in turn, has already exceeded the mark of 100 million vehicles in circulation. And from 2009 until now, it has increased by over 70%. Obviously, with the growth of the fleet, problems have intensified. One of these problems, pollution, may now begin to decrease with the increasingly imminent presence of electric trucks on the highways, thanks to their sustainable advantages, such as low carbon dioxide (CO²) emissions, less noise in circulation, and low maintenance and energy recharge costs. In cities, they also prove to be of extreme value, as they can, for example, optimize urban mobility services, such as garbage collection. According to experts, the difference in the purchase price of electric trucks compared to diesel models is offset by the low maintenance and energy recharge costs. And because they last longer in service. According to calculations, an electric truck pays back the investment made in its acquisition in six years, while a diesel truck takes an average of 13.9 years. It should also not be forgotten that in Brazil, electric buses, known as trolleybuses, used in public transportation, arrived in the late 1940s, but since then, many cities have deactivated their lines. However, they are now regaining importance because technology may allow this type of vehicle not to depend on overhead wire networks. In any case, at a time when the world is discussing how to reduce emissions of gases and noise in cities, electric vehicles – trucks, trolleybuses, and automobiles – play a fundamental role in achieving these goals, as they have widely known technology and low cost compared to other alternatives.

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Liana Lourenço Martinelli, lawyer, postgraduate in Business Management and International Trade, is the Institutional Relations Manager of the Fiorde Group, comprised of Fiorde International Logistics, FTA Transport and Warehouses, and Barter International Trade. Email: fiorde@fiorde.com.br. Website: www.fiorde.com.br

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