Electrifying Medium- and Heavy-Duty Fleets

The report identifies that while light-duty EV adoption is progressing in Canada, medium- and heavy-duty vehicle (MHDV) electrification is lagging. It highlights three primary barriers: constrained vehicle supply, charging infrastructure gaps, and operational implementation challenges. To address these, the Electrifying Canada task force proposes four catalysts: the development of near-term corporate electrification plans, the alignment of utility planning with net-zero pathways, the establishment of ZEV sales mandates for MHDVs, and the use of public-private financing to crowd in private investment.

• Transportation is a primary source of Canadian greenhouse gas emissions, ranking second only to the oil and gas sector. To reach net-zero by 2050, a significant shift is required where electricity powers the majority or all of on-road MHDVs.
• The federal government of Canada has set targets to require 35% of total MHDV sales to be zero-emission by 2030 and 100% for specific vehicle types by 2040, aligning with a Global Memorandum of Understanding on Zero-Emission Medium-and Heavy-Duty Vehicles.
• Corporate MHDV electrification faces three main obstacles: limited OEM manufacturing capacity leading to long waitlists or a lack of viable models for niche classes; electrical capacity concerns at depots and uncertainty over public charging deployment; and high upfront capital costs combined with a lack of internal expertise for planning and maintenance.
• Current utility capacity planning is described as reactive and insufficient for the scale of MHDV electrification needed. The report calls for utilities to proactively assess grid and substation capacities and support megawatt-scale charging for long-haul transport.
• A ZEV sales mandate is recommended to provide market certainty for both manufacturers and utilities, citing California's Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) regulation as a leading model that requires manufacturers to sell a specific percentage of heavy-duty ZEVs starting in 2024.
• To address the high upfront costs of electric fleets, the report suggests public-private-Indigenous financing initiatives to mitigate project risk and leverage long-term private investment, noting the emergence of turnkey services that pair financing with logistics.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2022). Electrifying Medium- and Heavy-Duty Fleets. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-05/electrifying-medium-heavy-duty-fleets-en.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Electrifying Medium- and Heavy-Duty Fleets. 2022. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-05/electrifying-medium-heavy-duty-fleets-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Electrifying Medium- and Heavy-Duty Fleets |date=May 2022 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-05/electrifying-medium-heavy-duty-fleets-en.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2022electrifying, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Electrifying Medium- and Heavy-Duty Fleets}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2022}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-05/electrifying-medium-heavy-duty-fleets-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }