SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Eleven electric big rigs are now hauling freight between San Diego and Tijuana through the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.
The semis are considered the first of their kind as the state of California has started the process of phasing out diesel trucks.
All commercial trucks in California are supposed to be zero-emission vehicles by 2045.
The first electric trucks were put into operation last week.
“This will become the norm as the world, and especially California, make the change,” said Israel Delgado Vallejo, vice president of Mexico’s Chamber of Freight Carriers. “We’re going to see more and more of them in the years ahead.”
Like many trucking companies operating along the border, the firm employing the electric rigs is based in Tijuana but has offices in San Diego.
The change from diesel to electric trucks will be phased in incrementally.
By 2025, 10 percent of trucks used by companies must be zero-emissions.
Delgado Vallejo says companies have been struggling to make the switch because the trailers for the electric trucks run about $450,000, three times as much as trailers pulled by diesel trucks.
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