Commercial Truck Industry Reunites at Work Truck Week

Wed March 23, 2022
Work Truck Week

Among the many electric vehicles introduced at the show was this Chevrolet Silverado EV, scheduled for the 2024 model year and available in the fall of 2023.

There were smiles and handshakes all around when Work Truck Week 2022 returned to the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind., March 8 to 11. North America's largest work truck event often felt more like a long-awaited reunion than a tradeshow, as a verified 12,696 industry professionals gathered in person for the first time in two years.

Work Truck Week, which includes The Work Truck Show and Green Truck Summit, is produced annually by NTEA — the association for the work truck industry. Last year's event was virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Work Truck Week has always been the commercial vehicle industry hub, but this year felt extra special in light of everything we have been through since March 2020," said Steve Carey, NTEA president and CEO. "People were excited to be together, shake hands, share ideas and explore the latest trucks, equipment and technology. In many ways, it delivered the sense of normalcy that our industry needed."

While overall event attendance was down about 7 percent versus 2020, Green Truck Summit, a full-day program focused on clean energy trends for commercial vehicles, set a record with a verified 835 participants — an increase of more than 58 percent. The summit brings together government representatives, educators, fleets, manufacturers and innovators to provide updates on the work truck industry's path to zero emissions.

That path wound through the Work Truck Show exhibit hall, where electric vehicles and charging dominated the product introductions. Some of the new products included:

• Shyft Group introduced Blue Arc EV Solutions, a new brand offering a trio of initial product offerings: a purpose-built commercial EV chassis, an all-electric Class 3 walk-in van, and a fully portable remote-controlled charging station called the Power Cube.
• Ford Pro announced new charging hardware that's launching alongside the 2022 E-Transit all-electric cargo van currently shipping to dealers and 2022 F-150 Lightning Pro all-electric pickup arriving this spring.
• SEA Electric introduced the Class 6 SV6 EV step van powered by its proprietary SEA-Drive power system and designed for the battery-electric last-mile delivery segment.
• Lion Electric Company announced several key partnerships with truck upfitters to provide new fully electrified refrigerated, dry freight and aluminum stake body options for its Lion6 zero-emission urban truck.
• Morgan Truck Body debuted its electrified refrigerated concept truck body on the Lion6 chassis, as well as a prototype 24-ft. dry freight cargo van body on a Navistar electric chassis.
• Ram Commercial unveiled the new 2023 Ram ProMaster and announced that in 2023 it will introduce a battery-electric ProMaster designed with input from Amazon to include unique last-mile delivery features.
• Chevrolet Commercial Vehicles showcased its 2024 Silverado EV fully electric truck and highlighted the fleet-oriented WT model.

Other "green" news included announcements related to customer adoptions of propane and biodiesel.

Hundreds of event attendees participated in the Work Truck Week Ride & Drive March 9 to 10. Ride & Drive featured 19 commercial vehicles with the latest advanced technologies, sustainability offerings and alternative fuel applications. Participants drove many of the vehicles on city streets.

For more Work Truck Week coverage, including press releases from exhibitors holding press conferences, photos, videos and educational session recaps, visit worktruckweek.com/coverage. Attendees who purchased a Green Truck Summit or Work Truck Week Conference Package can access on-demand educational content through April 13 by logging in to their WTW22 Planner at wts22.mapyourshow.com/8_0/login/login.cfm and selecting On-demand.

Work Truck Week returns to Indiana Convention Center March 7 to 10, 2023.

For more information, visit worktruckweek.com/wtw23signup.

(All photographs in this article are Copyright 2022 Construction Equipment Guide. All Rights Reserved.)

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