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Payne: Behind the wheel of Bollinger’s ambitious, commercial e-truck
Posted by Talbot Payne on September 21, 2023
Ann Arbor — With instant torque, innovative electric platform, and high-tech interior, Silicon Valley-based Tesla remade perceptions of the luxury automobile. Oak Park-based Bollinger Motors wants to do the same for an entirely different segment: Class 4 trucks.
Step on the throttle of the eight-ton Bollinger B4 box delivery truck and it squirts forward like a Tesla.
Turn into a roundabout and it stays planted, thanks to the huge, 158-kWh battery located low between the frame rails. Turn into a parking lot and its innovative platform allows for tight turning. It’s ideal for central-city deliveries, and it’s a long way from the off-road-focused, Bollinger B1 and B2 Hummer fighters that CEO Robert Bollinger envisioned when he founded the company eight years ago.
“Commercial EV trucks sales will outshine retail sales right away because every fleet wants them, every state is for them, and the federal government is giving subsidies. A lot of customers want B4 and B5,” said Bollinger, 56, of the commercial truck class that carries as much as 16,000 pounds and is dominated by diesel-powered Ford F450s and similar giants from General Motors Co., Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis NV, and Isuzu.
The multibillion-dollar Inflation Reduction Act — Bollinger calls it the “Biden Act” — was key to opening the floodgates to billions in federal subsidies to back up government plans to eliminate gas-fired commercial trucks just as it has targeted gas-driven retail vehicles for extinction by 2035.
To achieve that goal, the U.S. government is offering $40,000 tax credits for each commercial truck (which typically sell for $85,000-$175,000) — similar to the $7500 offered on the sale of EVs like Tesla. But where Tesla has sold like hotcakes for a decade with or without government subsidy, Bollinger says that the $40k tax break is key to EV truck adoption.
“We purposely did a Class 4 because we knew the Biden Act was coming,” he said from behind a B4 steering wheel. You’ll know the Bollinger trucks by their “B’ logo on the fascia — formed by a stacked pair of greater-than symbols.
Where Tesla built a network of DC fast chargers that enabled its vehicles to go on long-distance trips as well as plug in at home, Bollinger sees its business as local. For now, trucks carrying big loads are severely limited for distance driving compared to their diesel peers.
Bring EV trucks into an urban environment, however, and the equation changes.
My B4 tester at the University of Michigan North Research Campus Research Complex weighed in at 50% of capacity (7,770 pounds) and was equipped with a 800-volt platform, 110-200 miles of range, and charge port behind the cabin that could fit a DC fast charger or 240-volt charger.
With electric infrastructure in industrial parks, buildings, and homes throughout metro areas, the B4 can charge more cheaply overnight after a 200-mile delivery day than a comparable diesel truck can fuel. And — assuming that big, $40k government subsidy, of course — the B4 would be cheaper to operate because of its simple, rear electric motor and the ability to charge using cheap off-peak utility rates.
Bollinger expects local governments in big cities like New York and San Francisco to increasingly penalize gas-powered vehicles, which would give the e-truck a further cost advantage.
The vehicle’s operation is conducive to central-city driving.
The B4’s 44-foot turning circle — credit Bollinger’s narrow front rails— makes for better maneuverability in urban areas, and the truck’s 702-pound feet of instant torque makes merging onto traffic — think the Lodge‘s short on-ramps — much easier.
CEO Bollinger started his journey inspired by Tesla and its re-invention of the automobile. But as he entered the commercial space, he and his team learned the value of contracting with existing suppliers — not just for cost saving, but also for customer security. The rear axle is sourced through Dana, the battery through ONE, and final assembly is by Roush to ensure reliability.
“We’re operating in the same commercial environment that’s existed for 70 years,” said Bollinger, an avid environmentalist. “We sell them through dealers. Then they work with upfitters — the same people who work with diesel trucks — who sell to fleets. B1 was our dream, to make exactly the way we wanted to. The B4 is other side of the coin, we’re giving (customers) exactly what they want.”
The B4 will be on sale in the second quarter of 2024 for utilities, landscapers and delivery fleets. Bollinger said that the same clients are knocking on his door for a B5 (Class 5 truck with 16,001-to-19,500-pound rating).
Like Tesla and other retail EVs, the B4 comes with limitations. Its battery is sensitive to weather changes — heat, cold, heavy rain — which can reduce range by 25-40%. On the other hand, Bollinger equips its trucks with Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries (LFP) rather than the Nickel Manganese Cobalt batteries (MNC) more commonly used in retails EVs because LFP batteries are less prone to fire.
LFPs also don’t contain cobalt, says Bollinger electric controls director Willian Wheeler, which has caused political issues for manufacturers since most cobalt is sourced from child labor mines in the Congo. China, however, remains an issue since some 60-80% of battery minerals are sourced there.
“The commercial vehicle market is unlike retail in that it’s very relationship-based,” said Jim Connelly, who came to work for Bollinger after 25 years at GM in marketing. “It’s great to be with a start-up where we can build the product right from the ground up.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.