The KT5L electric cargo truck is an EV truck built for the 350 km Abidjan to San Pedro corridor that carries most of Cote d'Ivoire's cocoa crop to port. With a 262 kWh CATL LFP battery and a LvKong motor rated 282 kW, the KT5L moves a 12 tonne payload of bagged cocoa at a real-world 1.2-1.5 kWh/km, giving a loaded range of 210-320 km that covers a single-leg port run on one charge. For cooperatives and logistics firms shipping under sustainability-linked buyer contracts, the truck also produces verifiable zero tailpipe emissions on the busiest export road in West Africa, which supports premium certification and lower port-side queuing fees.
The table below lists the production figures that matter to a cocoa haulier planning 20 to 60 vehicles.
| Parameter | KT5L Specification |
|---|---|
| Battery chemistry | CATL LFP, 262 kWh usable |
| Battery warranty | 8 years / 4,500 cycles |
| Traction motor | LvKong, 282 kW peak |
| Loaded range | 210-320 km per charge |
| Energy use loaded | 1.2-1.5 kWh/km |
| DC fast charge | 120-360 kW, 10-80% in 45-90 min |
| Payload | Up to 12 tonnes box cargo |
| FOB price | USD 65,000-85,000 |
The corridor is well suited to depot charging because both ends already run 24-hour logistics yards. A 240 kW DC charger at the Abidjan consolidation warehouse returns the 262 kWh pack to 80 percent in about 60 minutes during load-out, and a second 180 kW unit at the San Pedro port gate tops the truck for the empty return leg. For operators running two round trips per day, a single overnight charge plus a midday top-up covers 700 km of total movement. Where grid power is unstable, a 200 kW battery buffer smooths the load and protects the pack from brownout events that are common in the rainy season.
Cote d'Ivoire industrial electricity costs about USD 0.10-0.20 per kWh, against diesel at USD 0.90-1.20 per litre. The KT5L uses roughly 1.3 kWh/km loaded, so energy runs USD 0.13-0.26 per km. A diesel box truck of the same class burns 0.45-0.55 L/km, costing USD 0.40-0.66 per km. Across a 40 truck fleet travelling 250 km per day for 300 days, the energy gap is worth USD 1.6-3.8 million annually before counting the 35-40 percent maintenance saving from eliminating the diesel engine, exhaust and manual gearbox. At current cocoa freight margins that energy saving is the difference between a 4 percent and a 9 percent operating margin on the transport leg.
During the October to March main harvest, volumes spike and night running becomes normal. The KT5L's instant torque and smooth one-pedal control let drivers hold 70-85 km/h on the corridor with less fatigue over a 10-hour shift. A 12 tonne load moves 480-600 km per day across two legs, and the sealed electric drivetrain shrugs off the dust and humidity that shorten clutch life on diesel rivals. Quiet operation also allows earlier morning departures from cooperative yards without disturbing nearby housing, which matters where collection points sit inside villages rather than at industrial sidings.
The 262 kWh pack sits in an IP67 enclosure rated for tropical storms and road spray, and the motor has a single moving assembly versus hundreds of reciprocating diesel parts. Key service intervals to plan for:
Buyers sometimes compare the KT5L against smaller or larger Dongfeng cargo trucks. The table shows where each fits a cocoa logistics plan.
| Model | Battery | Payload | FOB USD |
|---|---|---|---|
| KT5J cargo | 210 kWh | 8 t | 55,000-70,000 |
| KT5L cargo | 262 kWh | 12 t | 65,000-85,000 |
| KT5M cargo | 282 kWh | 14 t | 70,000-90,000 |
| KTH1 cargo | 350 kWh | 16 t | 80,000-100,000 |
For the 350 km Abidjan-San Pedro leg the 262 kWh KT5L is the cost-optimal choice; the 350 kWh KTH1 only pays back where a round trip must exceed 600 km without charging, while the 210 kWh KT5J suits short feeder runs from farm gates to the Abidjan warehouse.
Over a 5-year, 450,000 km life, a KT5L costs about USD 0.28-0.42 per km in energy and USD 0.05-0.09 per km in maintenance, against USD 0.55-0.72 per km in diesel fuel plus USD 0.10-0.16 per km in diesel maintenance. Net operating saving is USD 0.32-0.51 per km, or USD 144,000-230,000 per truck across the period, which covers the USD 65,000-85,000 FOB price gap versus a diesel within the first 2-3 years before residual value is counted.
The Cote d'Ivoire electric truck market is accelerating as cocoa buyers tighten traceability and carbon rules for export cargo. FOB pricing for the KT5L lands at USD 65,000-85,000 with containerized shipment from Xi'an to Abidjan in 34 to 40 days. Operators should budget USD 25,000-45,000 per depot for two DC chargers, recoverable in 20-28 months on fuel and maintenance savings.
Cocoa logistics runs on driver retention as much as fuel cost. The KT5L's silent electric drivetrain removes the vibration and heat of a diesel inline-six, so drivers finish a 10-hour Abidjan-San Pedro shift with less fatigue and fewer complaint calls to the depot. The sealed battery tunnel leaves more floor space for a flat, low-step cabin, and the instant torque means smoother pull-away under a 12 tonne load, which protects sacked cocoa from the jolts that break bags and invite moisture loss at the port weighbridge where a rejected lot can cost a cooperative thousands of dollars in a single morning.
Cabin and load features that matter on this route:
For cooperatives exporting under traceability programs, the per-trip energy and emissions log is directly reusable as evidence in carbon-linked premium contracts, turning the EV truck from a cost item into a documentation asset that supports a higher farm-gate price. A 40 truck fleet logging 250 km per day generates roughly 3,000 auditable trip records per month, enough to satisfy the strictest European buyer and to defend the sustainability claim if it is ever challenged at the port or in the importing country's customs review.
The KT5L also simplifies the driver pool. Because there is no clutch and no gearshift, new operators reach productive speed in one day instead of two weeks, which matters in Cote d'Ivoire's tight haulage labour market during the October to March harvest peak when every extra truck on the road earns premium freight. Combined with the USD 0.13-0.26 per km energy cost against USD 0.40-0.66 per km for diesel, the cabin and documentation advantages compound into a freight margin that is both wider and more stable across the season.
Contact Shaanxi Fenghan Trading for a route-specific quote, charging layout and driver training plan for your cocoa fleet.Ready to electrify your fleet? Contact Shaanxi Fenghan Trading — authorized Dongfeng EV truck exporter. WhatsApp: +86 153 1943 1311 | Email: sales@fenghan-trade.com | dongfengevtrucks.com
🌐 Our Network: Fenghan Trade (SAGMOTO/SHACMAN Truck Export) · SAGMOTO cargo truck flatbed box stake