Volvo delivers electric Class 8 trucks to Albertsons for local grocery distribution

Dive Brief:

Volvo Trucks North America delivered Albertsons' first electric Class 8 trucks for distribution, according to a press release. The two Volvo VNR Electric trucks will make local deliveries in Southern California.
The grocer made its first delivery with one of the new vehicles to an Albertsons store in Irvine, California, which was the "first commercial 100% zero-emission grocery delivery with a Class 8 truck in the U.S.," Volvo said in the release. Albertsons procured electric reefer units from Advanced Energy Machines to pair with the trucks.
The trucks Albertsons is leasing are part of Volvo’s Low Impact Green Heavy Transport Solutions project, known as Volvo LIGHTS. The initiative incorporates more than a dozen organizations, including the Port of Los Angeles and Southern California Edison.

Dive Insight:

Albertsons' new trucks have a 150-mile range and will make local deliveries to stores in Southern California, Fast Company reported last week. The vehicles will charge at one of the company’s distribution centers.

“We are confident that the Volvo VNR Electrics Albertsons is deploying in Southern California will enable the company to not only reduce its emissions, but to make reliable daily deliveries to its grocery stores throughout the region,” Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks North America, said in a statement.

Across its nationwide fleet, Albertsons operates 1,400 Class 8 trucks, all of which are certified as meeting high sustainability and efficiency standards under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay program. The grocer’s Southern California fleet includes 335 Volvo-made trucks traveling between the Central Coast and California-Mexico border.

The push into electric reflects increasing pressure on grocers and OEMs to boost the efficiency and sustainability of their fleets. Companies like Volvo have been developing electric trucks for years, but producing electric batteries capable of powering long drives while also conserving weight — a key consideration for trucking firms — has proven challenging.

Daimler, the largest manufacturer of heavy trucks in the world, said last month that it plans to shift to making only zero-emission vehicles within roughly 15 years. In addition to electric-powered options, the company, along with rival Volvo, have teamed up to develop hydrogen-powered fuel cells to power long-distance vehicles.