In a critical step toward realizing the organization’s vision for a more sustainable transportation industry, Volvo Trucks North America announced today its VNR Electric model is now commercially available in North America. Designed, developed, and produced in the U.S. specifically for the North American market, Volvo Trucks will manufacture the VNR Electric truck at its New River Valley assembly plant in Dublin, Virginia beginning in early 2021.
“In launching the VNR Electric, we’re answering a very real need from fleet customers across North America—to not just deliver a road-tested, battery-electric truck, but to provide them with solutions for the entire life-cycle of the vehicle,” said Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks North America. “Before making the VNR Electric truck available to our customers, we thought through every aspect of electrification so they didn’t have to. We have worked alongside our fleet customers to plan beyond the vehicle and have developed an entire support system, ensuring this vehicle meets their needs day-in and day-out.”
The Volvo VNR Electric plays a pivotal role in helping Volvo Trucks’ North American fleet customers meaningfully reduce emissions and achieve their ambitious sustainability goals.
“Across the globe, Volvo Trucks is leading the electrification race. By introducing a robust lineup of all-electric commercial vehicles in both Europe and North America, we are delivering on our promise to drive this industry toward a sustainable future,” said Roger Alm, president of Volvo Truck Corporation. “Volvo doesn’t view transportation electrification as a disruption of the existing market—we see it as an opportunity to invent something completely new and transformational. We are proud to collaborate with our partners around the world to bring this vision to life, and it is especially impressive to see what is being done together with our partners in North America.”
Volvo Trucks is successfully facilitating the introduction of the Class 8 VNR Electric model to the North American market in part through strategic partnerships and participation in innovative demonstration projects.
“By collaborating with 14 other organizations in the Volvo LIGHTS project in Southern California, we gained crucial experience as we worked together to demonstrate the real-world viability of the VNR Electric truck and its supporting ecosystem,” said Voorhoeve. “We fully understand the steps needed to successfully deploy and operate electric trucks and can confidently offer the Volvo VNR Electric to our customers across North America.”
With a goal to transform goods movement, the Volvo LIGHTS project united public and private stakeholders to design an end-to-end support system for the wide-scale electrification of commercial trucking. Alongside rigorous real-world fleet trials, the landmark project created a robust dealership service model for sales and maintenance, developed best practices to implement reliable and cost-effective heavy-duty charging infrastructure, and launched next-generation training programs for technicians and first responders. The project will continue to gather real-world operational data through 2021.
Voorhoeve continued, “There is much more to the successful commercialization of electric trucks than simply designing and delivering a cutting-edge vehicle. By considering every detail—from the point-of-sale to charging, uptime, driver experience, service, support, and beyond—we are able to make the transition to electrification as seamless and efficient as possible for our customers.”
Earlier this year, the Volvo VNR Electric model was certified by both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board enabling the vehicle to be commercially sold in all 50 states of the U.S.