Ryder deploys Volvo VNR Electric trucks to service Volvo assembly operations

Volvo Trucks North America has delivered seven Volvo VNR Electric trucks to Ryder System to support local supply chain routes servicing the Volvo Group’s truck assembly operations in Pennsylvania. Ryder replaced the diesel trucks that were previously servicing the route and will operate the zero-tailpipe emissions Class 8 battery-electric trucks to support the Volvo Group’s sustainability goal of reducing CO₂ from its global operations.

Volvo Financial Services (VFS) worked with Ryder to place all seven of the VNR Electric trucks on five-year vehicle-as-a-service fair market value (FMV) leases. Through the FMV lease model, Ryder has the opportunity to lease Volvo VNR Electric trucks for a predetermined period of time and subsequently purchase them at the current market price upon the completion of the lease. This arrangement with VFS allows Ryder to reduce initial investment and risk while gaining valuable experience and expanding their electric truck offerings

This month, Ryder began operating the Volvo VNR Electric trucks on two shifts completing up to eight round trips daily, with all seven trucks transporting assembly kits of components for heavy-duty trucks at the nearby kitting facility to Mack Trucks’ Lehigh Valley Operations (LVO) plant in Macungie, Pennsylvania. To charge the vehicles, Ryder will utilize five mobile 50 kW chargers available at the plant, which will be replaced with six permanent chargers—five 100-kW chargers and one 150-kW charger—which are currently being installed.

Daimler Trucks has announced an autonomous Freightliner eCascadia technology demonstrator, combining battery electric drive and integrated autonomous driving technology into one truck.

The truck is based on a production BEV Freightliner eCascadia and is equipped with autonomous driving software from Torc Robotics and Level 4 sensor and compute technology. Daimler Truck says this will eventually enable Level 4 autonomous driving. Daimler Truck says the autonomous vehicle has the potential to evolve into a modular, scalable platform that is propulsion-agnostic for flexible use in different trucking applications. The goal, according to the company, is to offer customers a choice of the right vehicles for their specific business and transportation needs.