Quality Custom Distribution (QCD), a national food service logistics provider, recently took delivery of a Volvo VNR Electric—the first zero-emission, battery-electric truck to be deployed in QCD’s fleet of more than 700 vehicles.
The Volvo VNR Electric model from Volvo Trucks North America will begin running last-mile delivery routes to restaurants and coffee stores throughout Southern California from the company’s warehouse in Fontana, California.
The Volvo VNR Electric Class 8 truck being leased to QCD is part of the Volvo LIGHTS project, a collaboration between Volvo Trucks North America, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) and 13 other organizations to develop a blueprint to successfully introduce battery-electric trucks and equipment into the market at scale.
Volvo Trucks North America began taking customer orders for its VNR Electric model on Dec. 3, 2020. Production of the Volvo VNR Electric is slated to begin in early 2021 at the company’s New River Valley manufacturing plant in Dublin, Virginia.
Between its Fontana and Los Angeles facilities, QCD operates 70 trucks. Leased from Volvo Trucks’ dealer Gateway Truck & Refrigeration located in the St. Louis area, the Volvo VNR Electric will be operating various nightly last-mile delivery distribution routes, each totaling nearly 100 miles roundtrip. One of 17 VNR Electric trucks leased to fleet customers through the Volvo LIGHTS initiative, the Volvo VNR Electric will help to evaluate battery-electric trucks in a variety of operating conditions, the company says.
