As part of a program to electrify its vehicle fleet, the Ministère des Transports du Québec (MTQ) has just taken possession of a first electric truck.
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The Quebec-made drop-side truck will be used by the MTQ to deploy orange cones on construction sites.
The ministry has entered into an agreement for the delivery of 13 electric trucks for the sum of $4.4 million with Lion Electric.
“It’s a vehicle that costs $335,000, it’s a little more expensive than a conventional vehicle. We are also entitled to reductions from the federal government. We’re talking about $100,000 per vehicle that the federal government offers us as part of the purchase of completely green vehicles,” underlines Transport Minister François Bonnardel.
The manufacturer Lion Electric, of Saint-Jérôme, estimates that the MTQ will achieve savings of 80% in energy costs and 60% in maintenance with its trucks, which have a range of 240 kilometres.
François Bonnardel believes that the Ministry of Transport has no choice but to lead by example.
“We are investing billions of dollars in urban buses as well as school buses and, today, in the government fleet. We have an extremely ambitious objective, if not the most ambitious in North America. The government fleet is nearly 21,000 vehicles. We have a goal of electrifying 12,000 of these light vehicles by 2030, so 100% of these vehicles and 9,000 other vehicles by 2040,” said the minister.
Alain Laforest | VAT News
Government vehicle fleet electrification targets are ambitious.
By 2030, 100% of light vehicles will be electric, 25% of light trucks and, by 2040, 100% of heavy trucks.
“1.6 million light vehicles will be electrified by 2030 in Quebec. 2035, 100% of the vehicles that will be sold will be green. I think that today we are showing Quebecers that we too have an important objective for the government fleet,” said the Minister of Transport.
The government has less than 15 years to go green.
As of May 31, 2021, the Government of Quebec had 21,332 vehicles, and more than half of them were light vehicles.
Of these, only 2,111, or less than 10%, were electrified.
The MTQ will have to replace a fleet of 3,000 medium and heavy trucks, and the acquisition of Lion Electric trucks is a first step.
The Ministry of Transport, which manages a fleet of 45 official vehicles for ministers, has only 19 which are either hybrids or plug-in hybrids.
“The big problem that big companies, like Lion or others, have to tackle is the autonomy of these trucks, of the vehicles. I am currently using a hybrid Toyota Sienna. We would like to have fully electric vehicles. The offer is interesting, but is not yet strong enough to be able to have a range of 400, 500, 600 kilometres,” says Minister Bonnardel, who is confident that manufacturers will come up with vehicles that can go longer distance without recharging