Due to low demand, it’s almost impossible for a dealership carrying just one brand of electric commercial vehicles to make any money, says the head of Range Zero Emissions, a west coast company that sells and distributes commercial EVs.

To help remedy that situation, Range Zero Emissions has entered into three distinct deals aimed at bolstering its product line, consolidating the distribution network and taking on a fuel cell powered vehicle, the Fife, Washington-based company announced Tuesday.

Pointing out that sales of class four and higher commercial EVs represent less than 1% of the market, or fewer than 2,000 vehicles, based on 2024 and 2025 sales, Range Zero Emissions CEO Johannes Ariens explained that’s not nearly enough volume for single-brand dealers.

“I would argue that today we don't have a product problem, what we have is a distribution problem, and that's based on a legacy distribution model, which is very geospecific and singular in OEM,” said Ariens, in an interview. “So we looked at those two things and go, okay, scrap both of them. We need to go collect as much market as possible, and say kind of heck with the rest, because what we need to move is towards mass adoption and if we do that, that's going to help all the OEMs out.”

To collect as much of the market as possible and improve distribution, Range Zero Emissions made these three deals:

  • Acquisition of Ethero Truck & Energy west coast operations. Ethero sells and distributes Harbinger brand commercial EVs and fuel cell-powered vehicles.
  • Consolidation of Ziegler Truck Group 's zero-emissions business under the Range brand.
  • Partnership with Hyundai Translead to provide sales, service, and aftermarket support for the XCIENT Fuel Cell Truck.

“It's all about consolidation and getting as much demand into one spot as possible to be able to serve the customers that are trying to enter the space in a way that they need to, which is all about consistency, growth, and really reliability being the biggest thing that we see missing in the OEM marketplace, which continues to hold the commercial side, you know, deeply below 1% adoption rates,” said Ariens in explaining the rationale behind the three moves.

Indeed the low adoption rate of commercial EVs is at odds with the expected overall growth of the market.

The medium and heavy duty commercial vehicles market is expected to grow from USD $343.38 billion in 2025 to $355.16 billion in 2026 and is forecast to reach $420.39 billion by 2031 at a 3.43% compound annual growth rate, according to a report by Research and Markets.

As for the partnership with Hyundai Translead, Ariens points out the fuel cell XCIENT fuel cell truck has been in the market for several years and has strong reputations for reliability and performance backed by an established manufacturer and supply chain.

In addition, he says the timing is right considering current high fuel costs and the availability of incentives.

“I think that for us it's another kind of continued step in that process of really bringing not only ourselves as a as a legacy dealer, but teaming up with a legacy brand that can kind of support the type of investment that really again demands that the industry demands to continue to move zero emission transportation adoption up,” said Ariens.

“We’re proud to work with Range Zero Emissions as they broaden their portfolio with the XCIENT Fuel Cell truck,” said Sean Kenney, CEO of Hyundai Translead, in a statement. “Together, we share a commitment to customer success and helping fleets seamlessly navigate toward a sustainable future in transportation solutions.”

While not specifically part of this deal trio, Ariens notes hybrid technology is “critical” to the commercial vehicle market, with the fuel cell Hyundai Translead making a unique contribution towards its adoption, declaring, “the natural step in that is going to be hydrogen hybrid technology, which is really what the architecture of the Hyundai XCIENT is. It's a fuel cell with batteries, right?”