Xos Class 8 Tractor Start of Production Remains on Schedule
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Xos’ plans for manufacturing a Class 8 tractor remain on schedule even as the electric truck maker sought to bolster its finances earlier in January, CEO Dakota Semler told Transport Topics.
Serial production of Xos’ HDXT tractor is currently scheduled to start late in 2025 at a site adjacent to its existing Tennessee step van manufacturing plant, Semler said in a Jan. 22 interview.
Designed for regional-haul applications, the HDXT will utilize Allison Transmission e-axles and Xos’ proprietary battery systems. It will have a range of up to 230 miles and a maximum payload of 56,000 pounds.
At present, the company has what Semler terms an engineering fleet that carries out short-term, one-day demonstrations for potential customers of both the HDXT and its planned MDXT medium-duty truck. Xos’ engineering fleet involves three HDXT tractors and two MDXT trucks, he said.
Semler
Los Angeles-headquartered Xos’ next step on the path to series production is building pre-series trucks, Semler said. There would only be minor changes to the specifications of the pre-series trucks before the company started serial production, he said.
Production of the MDXT would start before manufacturing of its larger sibling began, the executive said. The company has room at its existing facility to build the medium-duty production line, he said, adding that Xos currently has a 17-acre site in Tennessee.
Manufacturing of the Class 8 HDXT is slated for a facility owned by Xos’ current landlord, which Semler indicated meant any expansion would not have to undergo as lengthy an approval process with local planning authorities as can be the case for industrial complexes.
MDXT customers will be able to order a chassis-cab, box truck, or reefer, configurable to various Class 6 and 7 commercial applications, according to the company website. It will have a range of up to 240 miles and payload of up to 15,000 pounds.
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The production start of the MDXT is set to be sped up by the truck sharing a lot of the same systems as the company’s existing step van. The powertrain will be very similar, Semler said. An official start of production date decision is expected by the end of 2024, he added.
Xos delivered 110 Class 5 and Class 6 step vans to customers in the fourth quarter of 2023 including FedEx Ground, UPS and Loomis, a 90% year-over-year jump, the company said Jan. 11. Xos delivered 105 trucks in the third quarter of 2023.
Manufacturing of Xos’ 16-foot and 18-foot step vans began in 2020. It has a range of up to 200 miles and cargo volume of up to 1,000 cubic feet. So far, the company has produced more than 600 vehicles.
However, Xos took steps to shore up its finances in the first half of January after running down its cash on hand and posting losses in both the second and third quarters of 2023, obtaining a $48.5 million capital infusion from serial emobility investor ElectraMeccanica.
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The company is attempting to significantly cut its cash burn. “Xos is continuing the push on cost savings, and we’ll follow through on that in 2024,” Semler told TT.
The ElectraMeccanica deal enables a scaling up of the company’s step van operations, Semler told TT. The deal will support the profitability of those operations, he said.
Xos intends to use the ElectraMeccanica cash to fund inventory and new features, Semler said.
In addition, the funds will be used for working capital and for bankrolling an expansion of the company’s in-house charging support arm, he said.
Joining forces with Xos is ElectraMeccanica’s second attempt to enter the U.S. commercial vehicle space in the past six months. The first with U.K.-based Tevva Motors Ltd. dissolved into acrimony before threats of legal action were resolved in November. ElectraMeccanica and Tevva originally planned to build a hybrid electric and hydrogen-powered Class 8 truck in Arizona.
