Gatik, ChargePoint pair up to face challenges of electric delivery trucks

Can soaring demand for e-commerce hasten a switch to electric delivery vehicles?

In some segments, that shift is already underway, with the likes of General Motors' BrightDrop commercial EV business targeting first- and last-mile delivery customers and Amazon compiling a fleet of 100,000 delivery vans as it aims to be carbon neutral by 2040.

In other segments, the case for electric delivery vehicles is less clear-cut, with heavy batteries and their associated charging times that are perhaps less than optimal for high-utilization vehicles.

Self-driving truck startup Gatik and ChargePoint, a national EV charging network, are looking to solve those challenges. The two companies said this week they've established a strategic partnership designed to address those problems and maximize operational efficiency.

Gatik's autonomous-driving system can be paired with Class 3 to Class 6 commercial trucks, and the company has pioneered development of "middle-mile" logistics routes that connect distribution centers and retail outlets. The company works with retailers such as Walmart and Canadian grocery chain Loblaw.

Those customers and others can use ChargePoint in designing sites to charge trucks and defray investment costs. Gatik can further access ChargePoint's nationwide charging network and fleet-specific software tailored for each customer's operations.

Battery-electric vehicles can be stalwarts of a light-duty delivery fleet. Exactly how they can be utilized in medium-duty operations is a grayer area. Gatik and ChargePoint's new partnership will help fill in those details.

— Pete Bigelow

What you need to know

VinFast plans plant in North Carolina: Vietnamese automaker VinFast will build an electric vehicle assembly plant and a battery manufacturing facility in North Carolina with an initial $2 billion investment.

Waymo to offer rides with no driver behind wheel: Waymo said it will begin offering rides in San Francisco without a driver behind the wheel — if only for Waymo staff to start. The Alphabet unit also announced plans to expand its Arizona operations for paying customers to cover downtown Phoenix.

Special Report: New technologies of EVs: Electric vehicles are finally finding traction as sales and investment plans rapidly expand, but automakers say EVs will really take off with the arrival of solid-state batteries. This story is one of many on the new technologies of EVs. See the whole package here.

Roundup

An advocacy group that includes Ford, Toyota and Waymo released a policy agenda to prepare U.S. workers for autonomous vehicles and related career opportunities.

While some are eyeing revolutionary battery cell technology that would radically improve electric vehicle range while slashing costs, Tesla and partner Panasonic are taking an evolutionary step that could make improvements almost immediately.

A lot of dealers have discovered that installing powerful fast chargers for electric vehicles — as some brands are requiring dealerships to do — is complicated, expensive and time-consuming.

NHTSA said it will review whether startup technology firm Pony.ai complied with government reporting requirements for driverless crashes.

Brain food

Porsche is offering a virtual reality gaming ride — for passengers, not drivers — at its Porsche Experience Center in Los Angeles.

Last mile

Autonomous deliveries may soon take flight: FedEx Express, a subsidiary of the logistics giant, is working with Bay Area startup Elroy Air on using vertical takeoff and landing aircraft in cargo operations.