Volvo Trucks North America is increasing the number of heavy-duty electric trucks serving its North American assembly plants. Together with four forwarding partners, a total of 15 battery-electric Volvo VNR Electric are now commuting in the service of supplier logistics.
Specifically, the 15 electric trucks transport parts from four different suppliers to the New River Valley Assembly Operations (NRV) plants in Virginia and Lehigh Valley Operations (LVO) in Pennsylvania. The Volvo VNR Electric used are vehicles of the current generation, which Volvo presented at the beginning of 2022. They belong to US class 8 and enable a range of up to 275 miles (around 443 kilometers).
Eight of the 15 vehicles are in service several times a day between Volvo Trucks North America’s main plant (NRV) and three suppliers and are operated in two shifts by Watsontown Trucking Company, Camrett Logistics and Online Transport. The driver always charges during the 30-minute lunch break – both in the first and second shift – and overnight at the end of the second shift. According to the American OEM, all three suppliers have installed their own charging infrastructure at their locations. The project initially started in 2021 with Watsontown Trucking Company and Camrett Logistics. The third forwarding partner Online Transport joined a little later.
Since December 2022, the concept has also been transferred to Pennsylvania. Since then, trucking company Ryder System has used seven VNR electric trucks to haul heavy-duty truck assembly kits to the Mack Trucks (LVO) plant’s outfitting facility in Pennsylvania. The battery-electric trucks replace the diesel trucks that were previously on the route.
“We developed this supply chain project to reduce CO2 emissions in our own operations. There is no better proof of the effectiveness of these trucks than when our own battery electric trucks drive through the front gates of both Volvo assembly plants,” says Daniel Vahlberg, Sourcing and Commodity Leader – Road Transportation, Volvo Group Truck Operations – Logistics Purchasing. “We look forward to working with the fleets already serving our factories to integrate Volvo VNR Electric trucks into their daily operations, creating a full sustainable supply chain loop.”
“We want to lead by example, and this project is an important part of our strategy to create a world-class sustainable transportation system,” adds Peter Voorhoeve, President of Volvo Trucks North America. “By working with our local trucking partners to deploy our own zero-emission VNR electric trucks to service at our plants, we are enabling sustainability within our value chain and in the communities where our own employees work and families live , improve.”
Volvo Trucks North America is part of Volvo Trucks and is headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina. In North America, the manufacturer says it has a network of almost 400 authorized dealers. Over the past year, the company has received several orders for the VNR Electric, including from Tradelink (15), 4 Gen Logistics (41) and shipping company Maesrk (110).
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