The Beachhead Model – Catalyzing mass-market opportunities for zero-emission commercial vehicles

Published Oct 2020

This paper describes the beachhead model to accelerate the market of zero-emission commercial vehicles (ZECVs). The global market for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles is poised for a complete transformation with the rapid development and deployment of ZECV technologies. These electric- and hydrogen-powered technologies will help improve urban air quality, mitigate climate change, spur industrial innovation, and create new clean tech jobs.

To accelerate these trends, CALSTART’s Global Commercial Drive to Zero program (Drive to Zero) aims to enable and speed the growth of near-zero and ZECVs—beginning with applications where they are most likely to succeed, referred to as first-success or “beachhead” applications, in first-mover regions with supportive policies and incentives. Once these initial footholds have been established, the Drive to Zero program supports their scaling and expansion with the vision that ZECVs will be commercially viable for beachhead applications in first-mover regions by 2025 and dominate new vehicle sales by 2040.

Author: Dan Welch
Organization: CALSTART
Regional focus: