Kittle’s Furniture is leading the way in Indiana with the state’s first Kenworth battery-electric truck. With six retail locations in Indiana, Kittle’s Furniture uses a Kenworth K270E electric truck to deliver furniture to customers in the Indianapolis metro area from its distribution center in Fishers. The truck is leased through Palmer Leasing, the local PacLease franchise, joining other leased medium-duty trucks also in service with Kittle’s.
With a range of up to 200 miles between charges, the truck is equipped with a 282 kW battery pack, which delivers 355 horsepower through a direct-drive motor. A 20 kW wall charger from Paccar Parts provides overnight charging.
Founded in Indiana and family-owned since 1932, Kittle’s has always looked to the future.
“That’s why we wanted to be the first in the furniture industry in Indiana to start using an electric delivery truck,” said Kittle’s CEO Eric Easter. “With recent advancements in EV technology, especially in commercial vehicles, we believe it’s time to test and move forward with trucks that eliminate emissions while reducing our consumption of fossil fuels. And we’re finding the truck is delivering as promised. The K270E is less expensive to operate and has fewer service and maintenance requirements. This helps offset the higher lease rate. Our EV Kenworth from PacLease allows us to move into the future.”
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According to Tyler Baker, Kittle’s director of operations, the K270E has been in service since November 2023. “We’ve been tracking the performance and project we will be saving $10,000 a year in fuel alone,” he said. “And our cost for recharging has been negligible—we’re not seeing much of a difference in our electric bill. We use the truck starting at 7:00 in the morning, and it’s returned to the charging pedestal by 6:00 in the evening. It’s then plugged in and ready to go in the morning.”
According to Baker, the main difference drivers have found between electric and diesel is the get-up-and-go power of the electric Kenworth. “It’s quicker out of the gate than our standard truck thanks to the direct drive engine,” Baker said, “and it’s so quiet. That’s taken getting used to, but our drivers like it.”
As with anything new, the electric Kenworth took some getting used to. “There was a learning curve for us and Palmer, since this truck was the first for both of us,” Baker said. “But we’ve been working together for a long time, so it was a good experience as we ramped up. We’re very comfortable with the electric truck now, and that will help us as the industry moves forward with battery-electric vehicles and charging technology.”
