Electrification isn’t just becoming a big deal among retail customers; commercial and logistics buyers are also turning to the technology to improve operations while cutting emissions. Volvo Trucks North America has long been a proponent of electrification and it’s one of the first to offer battery-electric semi-trucks to its customers. The Class 8 Volvo VNR Electric Truck just got its largest order to date from Performance Team, a division of the Maersk Company. How many trucks are we talking about? How about 110 units. That’s on top of the 16 that the Performance Team initially ordered in the third quarter of 2021.
Performance Team will be the first to scale its zero-emissions logistics fleet in 2022 using the Volvo VNR Electric Truck. In total, 126 examples will be in operations and are scheduled for deployment by the first quarter of 2023. “Volvo Trucks, in partnership with our dealer TEC Equipment, is excited to continue growing our collaboration with Maersk on its fleet sustainability goals and commends the organization’s scaled investments in electromobility solutions,” said Peter Voorhoeve, President of Volvo Trucks North America. “Incredibly, this is the second time in less than a year that Volvo Trucks has had the opportunity to announce that Performance Team — A Maersk Company, has placed the largest order of Volvo VNR Electrics to date, which underscores their organization’s firm commitment to reducing its carbon footprint.”
Maersk, one of the largest container logistics companies in the world, is leading by example via its initiatives to improve supply chain sustainability throughout its operations. The acquisition of the all-electric VNR is part of its environmental social governance strategy, which aims to decarbonize logistics. Vincent Clerc, CEO of Ocean $ Logistics at A.P. Moller — Maersk, notes that its customers are looking for substantial action toward making supply chains sustainable. As a result, Maersk is moving toward building an end-to-end, landside decarbonization service for clients that are in line with the company’s efforts to make all transport in its global operations net zero.
Performance Team’s order was done in collaboration with REC Equipment, the largest dealer on the west coast for Volvo Trucks. It is also the first dealership to achieve Volvo Trucks’ Certified Electric Vehicle Dealer designation in North America when it got the designation last year. TEC Equipment locations in Fontana and La Mirada, both of which are in Southern California, will support the Performance Team’s operations and maximize the uptime of their VNR Electric fleet. Both locations will have trained service teams and equipment to perform maintenance on battery-electric vehicles and repairs for their customers.
The Volvo VNR Electric was designed as a sustainable transportation solution for fleet operators. It has been designed specifically to support local and regional distribution, pickup and delivery, and food and drink distribution. The latest version of the VNR Electric can travel up to 275 miles per charge and can DC charge at peak rates of up to 250 kW. This will get the 565-kWh six-battery model to 80 percent in 90 minutes. The 375-kWh four-battery version charges even quicker, getting to 80 percent in 60 minutes. Five versions of the VNR Electric are available, two standard trucks or three types of tractors. Only the 6×2 and 6×4 are available with the six-battery pack option.
