New Zealand’s Foodstuffs North Island Limited has given its latest electric semi truck an electrifying new identity, courtesy of a second-grade student at a local elementary school.
The Chinese-built DeepWay Star began delivering chilled and frozen groceries across New Zealand’s lower North Island earlier this year – and, after a naming competition organized with students at Russell Street School in Palmerston North, the big HD EV has got a new name: Evie.
The winning name came from Year 2 (read: second grade) student named Madison, who beat out suggestions including Buzzy Bee, Lightning, and Bolt. Madison got to officially unveil the truck’s new name alongside her classmates, local officials and Foodstuffs representatives.
“Our trucks are out on the road every day delivering food to stores and communities, so we thought it would be great to get the kids involved and give our first electric truck a bit of personality,” explains Foodstuffs North Island General Manager Supply Chain, Yang Zhang. “There were some brilliant ideas, but Evie was a pretty fitting name for an EV. The best part is knowing Madison and the other students will be able to spot Evie out on the road and know they played a part in it.”
Looking forward
Madison was allowed to do the unveiling honors, revealing Evie’s new name alongside her other classmates, Palmerston North’s Mayor, Grant Smith, local MP Tangi Utikeri, and local PAK’nSAVE, New World, and Four Square grocers who will be receiving deliveries from Evie.
In its first few months on the road, Evie’s travelled nearly 45,000 kilometers (~28,000 miles) and avoided more than 81,000 kg of harmful carbon emissions – which the company claims is roughly equivalent to taking 35 ICE cars off the road for a full year.
As for the truck itself, it has a sort of Tesla-ish, anteater-y look, and significantly longer range than the StarWay, offering more than 500 km (~310 miles) of range from its 600 kWh CATL-built LFP battery packs that can plug into charge ports two at a time for lickety-quick charging in about 30 minutes. If that’s too long of a wait, the Star can swap its tired batteries for fresh ones in special battery-sway stations in just six minutes.
The DeepWay’s electric motors put out 491 kW (~660 hp) of power, and a positively tectonic 75,000 (!) Nm (~55,000 lb-ft) (!!) of torque – more than enough to get the 50 tons (100,000 lb.) of GVWR it’s rated for up to speed.
You can check out the pictures, above, then let us know what you think of the big Chinese BEV and it’s fun new name in the comments.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Foodstuffs.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
