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Xos Is Ready To Compete With Electric Delivery Fleets, Won't Shy From Building Armored EVs

While I was out there exploring the automotive industry, I ran across a crew dubbed Xos. Sure, you may need help to derive any information from their name, but all you need to know is that this crew offers complete fleet management solutions designed to take parcel delivery to the next level, to an electrified one.
Xos and Loomis 17 photos
Photo: Xos
Xos and LoomisXos and LoomisXos Mobile ChargingXos Mobile ChargingStepvan CabStepvan CabStepvan Battery MonitorStepvanStepvanStepvanMDXTMDXTMDXTHDXTHDXTHDXT
Folks, the name Xos popped up in 2016. However, they quickly rose to electric fleet power because of the battery management solutions they offer to those looking to take their business to the next level, that ‘green’ one. But, beyond battery management, this crew offers several EVs for road use, each dependent on your business needs. Let’s dive in and see what this crew is all about.

To make things easier to understand, let me start with the vehicle options they offer, and then we’ll continue with the overall infrastructure this crew employs to be able to compete and even replace the current gas-guzzling system we currently use.

So, we kick things off with a question: why fleet management? Well, because of the limited range that current EV technology allows for, it’s best to start locally and work our way outward, and that’s what Xos’ approach seems to be. And so, we begin our exploration of this EV magic with the SV or Stepvan.

The SV is the solution that may seem most familiar to us. Why? Simply because it looks like nothing more than a classic UPS or FedEx truck that we’ve grown up with. The twist here is that you won’t hear this thing coming down the street until it’s finally in front of your house. With it, business owners can attain a range of up to 150 miles (241 kilometers) and carry up to 1,000 cubic feet (28.3 cubic meters) of cargo. Oh, and depending on the charger, two or six hours are all that’s needed to get it back on the road delivering those Amazon packages.

HDXT
Photo: Xos
Up next is the MDXT, a medium-duty, cab chassis EV designed to go further and carry more goods than the SV. Here, a range of up to 240 miles (386 kilometers) can be achieved, and 15,500 pounds (7,031 kilograms) of load can be carried by this truck. However, the bigger and beefier a system may be, the longer it’s going to take to fill up the tank, and in the case of the MDXT, with a DC Fast charger, it’ll take between four and five hours to get the truck back on the road.

The final beast in the Xos lineup is the HDXT, a heavy-duty “tractor” designed to carry the largest loads of all three vehicles, up to 56,000 pounds (25,673 kilograms). But the downside here is that the range peaks at 230 miles (370 kilometers), and again, charge times are a bit high, up to five hours yet again. But this one can even haul entire shipping containers.

Speaking of cargo containers, let me point out that Xos also has a neat range extender for their trucks. Simply put, the Xos Hub is nothing more than a shipping container filled to the brim with 400 kWh of electric juice to charge these trucks while out on the road. Oh, and it can even charge up to five trucks at once. The downside here is that you’ll need to employ a truck to pull this thing along, and it weighs 16,500 pounds (7,484 kilograms). But it’s not clear how long it’ll take to recharge one of these buggers, yet, at 400 kWh, you can bet your bottom dollar you’ll be leaving it to charge overnight on a DC Fast.

Xos and Loomis
Photo: Xos
The final product this crew offers to its future fleet owners is the ability to operate your fleet with as little hands-on involvement as possible. It’s called the Xosphere, and with a subscription to this service, Xos’ specialists will simply keep their keen eye on your fleet for you, ensuring as little costs as possible while offering peak efficiency. Considering most of us don’t know anything about managing an EV fleet, this latter feature ensures we run our electrified businesses at optimum levels.

Now, Xos isn’t the only crew that’s hitting the market with such solutions, but they are one of the teams that are actively securing contracts for their machines, and with good reason. For example, one of Xos’ most recent clients is none other than Loomis. You know, those dudes and dudettes that pick up cash from businesses and deliver it safely to their banks. Oh, and guess what? The armored vehicles that Loomis will be employing are built by Xos too.

What does this mean for the future of Xos? Think about it for a second. These folks are at a level where they’re building armored electric vehicles. The only way to go from here is the military, and if Xos happens to secure any government contracts, then its future is clearly secured. If there are any investors in the crowd, you may just need to keep an eye on this one. Oh, the stock price is currently standing at about $1 apiece.
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Editor's note: Images in the gallery showcase all vehicles in the Xos lineup, including the Loomis armored trucks.

About the author: Cristian Curmei
Cristian Curmei profile photo

A bit of a nomad at heart (being born in Europe and raised in several places in the USA), Cristian is enamored with travel trailers, campers and bikes. He also tests and writes about urban means of transportation like scooters, mopeds and e-bikes (when he's not busy hosting our video stories and guides).
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