Austria: “ENIN funding is a ticket to the world of electromobility for heavy commercial vehicles”
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Tschann’s customers are waiting to apply for ENIN, the support program for commercial vehicles in Austria. It will probably take a while before the measure is reflected in the books of the Austrian commercial vehicle dealer. In an interview, Managing Director Enrico Simma talks about the start of electromobility in Austria, what politics needs to do, about electric vehicles in the mountains, the truck toll and more.
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Austria will significantly increase the proportion of zero-emission commercial vehicles on the roads in the coming years. Expected to start in August is ENIN (zero-emission commercial vehicles and infrastructure), a program designed to help companies switch their fleets to non-fossil-powered commercial vehicles and set up the charging and refueling infrastructure required for these commercial vehicles.
Enrico Simma, Managing Director of the Austrian commercial vehicle dealer Tschann, sees the funding as an “entrance ticket to the world of electromobility for heavy commercial vehicles”. The high investment costs make “commercial use uneconomical so far,” he says. Tschann’s customers are just waiting to be able to submit the application.
As a result, and with a view to the company he manages, Simma does not expect concrete orders until the first quarter of 2023. In the interview you can read what Simma says about the start of electric mobility for commercial vehicles in Austria, what he thinks about the truck toll for emission-free commercial vehicles in the country and how Tschann’s cooperation with partner DAF will change.
Mr. Simma, according to the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), the share of electric cars in new registrations in Austria rose to 6.4 percent in 2020, and the share in existing cars was just under one percent. The situation for the year looks significantly worse for e-commercial vehicles in classes N1, N2 and N3: 1.8 percent for new registrations, 0.65 percent for existing vehicles. In your opinion, where are the greatest difficulties in starting electromobility, especially with regard to commercial vehicles, in Austria?
The biggest hurdle is certainly the high investment costs, which have made commercial use uneconomical up to now. However, this is currently changing, because with ENIN, funding for heavy commercial vehicles in classes N2 and N3 will soon be available in Austria for the first time. Class N1 commercial vehicles are also funded.
What have customers been asking about Tschann so far? What technical features are still holding customers back? From what values would you buy?
The issues of range and charging infrastructure are certainly the determining factors here. And of course the eligibility. With the current models DAF CF Electric (range up to 220 km) and LF Electric (range up to 280 km) we can cover operations in regional distribution traffic, factory traffic and scheduled traffic. With the appropriate charging infrastructure and route planning, daily ranges of up to 500 km are possible. The offer is therefore initially aimed at customers who offer traffic in these segments. It is a start, because the public charging infrastructure will gradually be expanded, ranges will increase and investment costs will decrease.
You are already speaking. From August 2022, there will be funding for emission-free commercial vehicles and infrastructure in Austria with ENIN. How will this affect Tschann’s business? What do you expect and what do you hope for?
The upcoming ENIN funding is the entry ticket to the world of electric mobility for heavy commercial vehicles. We have a number of customers with mature projects just waiting to apply for funding. After funding has been approved, there WILL also be the corresponding orders. Due to the deadline, we expect orders in the first quarter of 2023.
What must politics in Austria do so that more electrically powered commercial vehicles will be on Austrian roads in the future?
Similar to Germany, the expansion of a well-known charging infrastructure along the main traffic routes must be tackled. Of course, the power supply must also be ensured accordingly. This requires the faster expansion of alternative energy sources and shorter processes. It is also incomprehensible that zero-emission vehicles do not entirely dispense with the truck toll. Currently there is only a half-hearted solution. It wouldn’t cost much, but it would send a clear signal. Then things have to go a little further with other energy carriers, such as hydrogen. Because with battery electric vehicles (BEV) alone, you will only ever be able to cover part of the transport.
Together with the construction and operating company GROHAG, you recently tested a 26-ton electric truck in the high mountains. Where do you see a need for optimization? What should companies focus on?
The purpose of the test was to refute the skepticism of some customers that BEVs are not suitable for mountain roads. This is a complete success. The greatest finding was that, as expected, very large amounts of energy are required when driving uphill, initially causing the range to shrink disproportionately, but that when driving downhill, 55 percent of the energy consumed was fed back into the battery. In addition, the brakes are protected. In the balance, driving on mountain roads only results in a smaller loss of range. The practical suitability was thus proven.
According to the website, Tschann does not yet offer any electrically powered commercial vehicles? Will that change soon?
Yes, so far the vehicles have been sold directly by the manufacturer DAF. We are now taking on this task and starting to sell electric trucks. Tschann will take over the sale of all DAF electric models, currently LF Electric and CF Electric, for his DAF sales areas in Bavaria and Austria. We have the advantage that DAF has been producing the vehicles in series for a long time and orders can be taken immediately.
How important is hydrogen as an alternative fuel for you? Will Tschann also deal with this in the future?
Various technologies are certainly needed to make freight transport CO2-neutral. DAF also develops hydrogen-powered vehicles, both direct combustion and fuel cell. Of course, we’re going along with this development and are taking into account the entire range of alternative drive types in our planning.
Mr Simma, Thank you for the interview!
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