Yancey Truck Centers Feature Nikola Vehicles at Georgia Ride & Drive Event

The Xos electric commercial vehicles were available for Ride & Drive time at the event. (CEG photo)

Thu May 12, 2022
CEG

Yancey Truck Centers, a division of Yancey Bros. Co., hosted a "ride and drive" event in Austell, Ga., April 27 featuring the Nikola TRE Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) and Xos Inc. Class 3-6 electric vehicles.

Available to large and local logistics organizations from around Georgia, the event was intended to educate attendees on fleet integration, charging options and to allow attendees to test the trucks before deciding to incorporate carbon-free vehicles into their fleet.

In discussions with attendees interested in the new Nikola day cab truck, Yancey Truck Centers Product Sales Manager Greg Bartlett gave the truck extremely "high marks" and said that the combo of the automatic transmission, disc brakes all the way around, coupled with powerful electric motors, make for a dynamic truck.

"I've been in the trucking business for 38 years and haven't seen anything like this with regards to power, turning radius and regenerative braking in a class 8 truck," he said.

The TRE BEV is a battery-electric Class-8 commercial truck with a cabover design, delivering zero-emissions. The 6x2 delivers up to 753 kW of energy into a compact 186-in. wheelbase, which means it has the power, range (up to 350 mi.) and maneuverability to address a variety of metro-regional applications while operating at a lower cost than conventional diesel tractors, according to the manufacturer.

Xos designs and manufactures cost-competitive, fully electric commercial vehicles. The company's primary focus is on medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles that travel on last mile, back-to-base routes of less than 200 mi. per day.

"As Georgia's leading provider of alternative powered school buses for the last 10 years, we are no stranger to the introduction and integration of alternatively fueled vehicles," said Shooter Roberts, Yancey's on-highway general manager. "We look forward to our collaborations and the ability to showcase a new offering to a traditional market in Georgia. We are ready and excited to be able to provide a clear, attainable pathway to ZERO Emissions."

Yancey will leverage its existing infrastructure and facilities, including dedicated truck service centers across the state of Georgia, to help drive the adoption of Xos and Nikola electric trucks. Yancey currently operates 29 facilities across the state. CEG