Performance Team, a Maersk company, has deployed its first Class 8 battery-electric trucks from Volvo Trucks North America for their Southern California hub in response to customer demand for sustainable short-haul warehouse and distribution centre operations.
The Volvo VNR Electric trucks are designed to handle local and regional distribution with a range of up to 275 miles on a single charge.
By the end of October, 30 Volvo VNR Electric trucks will operate, including 16 in Performance Team’s Santa Fe Springs, California distribution centre and 14 in Performance Team’s Commerce, California distribution centre.
Performance Team expects to deploy an additional 126 Volvo Electric trucks in North America by Q3 2023, and future deployment locations will be determined by customer demand and location needs.
The company worked closely with the TEC Equipment – Fontana sales team, a Volvo Trucks’ Certified EV Dealership, and Volvo Trucks North America to identify the ideal Volvo VNR Electric configurations needed to run their daily freight routes. In addition, the companies used Volvo Trucks’ Electric Performance Generator (EPG) tool, which helped determine which trucks were best suited, considering environmental factors such as speed, payload, terrain, and ambient temperature. The EPG also assesses specific route details, including traffic patterns.
In addition, the Performance Team is also taking advantage of the Volvo Gold Contract, Volvo Trucks’ premier service offering a turn-key solution for the first six years of ownership. This will allow them to have operational peace of mind knowing they have access to 24/7 support, including tow services and vehicle repair, should any issues arise.
The deployment of zero-emission Volvo VNR Electric models is part of the company’s environment, social and governance (ESG) strategy to decarbonize logistics. Its California-based fleet operates 215 trucks, which the Performance Team intends to transition from diesel to battery-electric trucks fully. The 126 Volvo VNR Electric trucks are the first step in that plan and create new charging infrastructure to support its battery-electric fleet.
Maersk’s Environment Social Governance (ESG) strategy is to decarbonize logistics. The strategy is a crucial driver for zero carbon operations in trucking and an essential part of Maersk’s goal of enterprise-wide, carbon-neutral operations by 2040, with significant steps to be taken by 2030. In California, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has regulations requiring diesel trucks to transition to zero emissions by 2030.
Source: Maersk Group
