Fleets adding electric trucks at scale

Electric trucks are moving from trial runs to routine fleet purchases in yards, depots and paratransit garages. (orangeev.com) Orange EV says its battery-electric terminal trucks are now used by more than 360 fleets, with 31.7 million miles and 12.1 million operating hours logged as of March 2026. The company said in October 2025 that its deployed fleet had already passed 10 million hours, up from more than 300 fleets announced in April 2025. (orangeev.com) (prnewswire.com 1) (prnewswire.com 2) In El Paso, Sun Metro unveiled 45 zero-emission electric vehicles and charging stations on March 24 for its LIFT paratransit service. The city said the $11 million project was funded through the Federal Transit Administration’s Low or No Emission Grant Program. (sunmetro.net) (blogs.edf.org) A terminal truck is the short-haul tractor that shuttles trailers around warehouses, ports and industrial yards instead of driving cross-country. Those routes are repetitive, return to base, and can charge on site, which the Department of Energy lists as conditions that fit electric fleet use. (orangeev.com) (afdc.energy.gov) Fleet buyers have spent the past few years looking for jobs where batteries can replace diesel without changing the whole operation. The Department of Energy says electric vehicles can lower operating costs, need less maintenance and work especially well in stop-and-go duty cycles common in fleets. (afdc.energy.gov) Public agencies are part of that shift. A state policy tracker updated in March 2026 counted 19 states with enacted public-fleet electric vehicle procurement targets, including medium- and heavy-duty goals in states such as Michigan and New York. (climatepolicydashboard.org) Texas is building around that demand too. The Texas Department of Transportation says construction has begun on 25 charging sites under its first phase of the Texas Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program, with planning underway for 45 additional stations. (txdot.gov) Orange EV’s customer list shows where the first large-scale use cases have landed: distribution centers, manufacturing plants, waste transfer stations and municipal operations from California to New York. Several of the examples on its site involve replacing diesel yard tractors that work multiple shifts in fixed locations. (orangeev.com) The next test is less about whether electric trucks can work in a depot and more about how many fleets add a second, third or fiftieth vehicle. The recent orders in Kansas City yards and El Paso paratransit suggest that decision is now being made in regular procurement cycles, not just pilot programs. (orangeev.com) (sunmetro.net)