The trucks, manufactured by Volvo Trucks North America, represent the largest single purchasing commitment of Volvo VNR Electric trucks to date, and will begin operating this fall in last-mile delivery routes for national food service logistics supplier Quality Custom Distribution (QCD) in Fontana, California. Combined with MSRC grant funds, the VFS leases provided through the program will reduce QCD’s total cost of operating the electric vehicles, making the trucks cost-competitive with existing diesel technology.
“Volvo Financial Services is committed to finding unique solutions to help make battery-electric vehicles more cost effective and accessible for our customers,” said Christopher Roback, vice president, sales and customer experience, Volvo Financial Services and project lead. “We are excited to work with the project team and MSRC to successfully deploy Volvo’s VNR Electric trucks and the required charging infrastructure in this project.”
VFS, a leader in the financial services industry, provides innovative products and services that help customers achieve their business goals. Through the Volvo LIGHTS project, and to further support the commercial availability of the Volvo VNR Electric, VFS has developed new vehicle leases and charging infrastructure financing solutions that reduce the barriers fleet customers can encounter when switching to zero-emission technologies.
Volvo Trucks North America is among the first major truck manufacturers in the U.S. to commercialize and sell battery-electric Class 8 trucks. The company began taking customer orders for its VNR Electric model last December and has multiple customer deliveries scheduled throughout 2021. With this purchase, Volvo Trucks now has orders for more than 100 VNR Electric models scheduled to be delivered and deployed in fleet operations throughout California over the next two years.
“We are excited to be recognized by the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee and have the opportunity to collaborate with our long-time fleet partner, QCD, on this milestone project," said Peter Voorhoeve, president, Volvo Trucks North America. "Volvo Trucks continues to lead the industry in scaling electromobility solutions and putting heavy-duty battery-electric trucks, and the tools to service and support them, into commercial fleet operations in North America."
In conjunction with the launch of the Volvo VNR Electric, Volvo Trucks introduced the Volvo Gold Contract, its most advanced service contract available, specifically designed to provide peace of mind to new electric truck owners. Incorporating maintenance, towing, uptime services, and full coverage of major components, the Volvo Gold Contract offered with Volvo VNR Electric is the first service contract of its kind from Volvo Trucks North America.
By providing valuable insights into the trucks’ operational performance and charging requirements, the Inland Ports Program will provide a roadmap and valuable lessons-learned for how retail distribution fleets can successfully invest in battery-electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.
