APM Terminals Elizabeth has placed an order for 96 battery-electric terminal trucks, a deal supplier Orange EV describes as one of the largest port electrification commitments on record. The order was signed at the operator’s Port Elizabeth facility and follows a 40-truck expansion at APM Terminals Los Angeles (Pier 400) earlier this summer, where a year-long 20-truck rental pilot brought that fleet to 60 units. Kansas City–based Orange EV says the two deals point to port operators moving past pilot programs toward fleet-wide standardization.
Highlights
- 96 HUSK-e XP units built at Orange EV’s production facility in Kansas City, Kansas, and compliant with Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) requirements
- 310-kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, which the company identifies as the largest pack available in its lineup
- 180,000 lbs. of combined weight capacity per truck, specified for heavy port and terminal duty
- 97%-plus average fleet uptime, alongside more than 14 million hours and 33 million miles of operation across the installed base, according to Orange EV
What the Order Covers
The 96 trucks are HUSK-e XP units, manufactured at Orange EV’s Kansas City plant. The company states the vehicles meet BABA domestic-content requirements in full.
“This order along with the Pier 400 order earlier this year, is evidence of an inflection point in ports as operators move past the pilot and testing phase to standardize around Orange EV’s turnkey solution,” said Kurt Neutgens, CEO of Orange EV. “Many Port Operators are accelerating because the Orange EV real-world data shows the business case for electrification and the environmental case align.”
How Is the HUSK-e XP Specified?
Each truck is purpose-built for heavy port and terminal operations and is rated to move up to 180,000 lbs. of combined weight. The vehicles run a 310-kWh LFP battery pack, which the company says is the largest capacity it currently offers.
A Procurement Weighted Toward Lifecycle Value
Orange EV says the order reflects APM Terminals’ practice of evaluating total value over the life of the asset rather than upfront unit cost alone. The stated criteria include uptime and other performance metrics, proven EV experience across more than 2,000 EV trucks in the market, spare parts availability, and service response standards.
Across its installed base, the company reports fleet-average uptime above 97%, more than 14 million hours of operation, and 33 million miles of real-world operation.
East and West Coast Ports Move in Parallel
The Elizabeth order follows last week’s announcement of a 24-truck deal with Greenwich Terminals, operator of the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South Philadelphia. That order sits within a broader modernization program targeting an all-electric yard operation, and will see the terminal permanently retire 10 older diesel-powered trucks.
Taken together with the Pier 400 expansion, Orange EV frames the activity as a shift on both coasts from testing electric yard trucks to scaling them.
