The Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC), a committee of California’s largest transportation and clean air agencies and stakeholders, has awarded Volvo Financial Services (VFS) over $3.9 million dollars to help fund the deployment of 14 Volvo VNR Electric trucks and charging equipment through its Inland Ports Program.
The trucks, manufactured by Volvo Trucks North America, represent the largest single purchasing commitment of Volvo VNR Electric trucks to date, the company says, and will begin operating this fall in last-mile delivery routes for national food service logistics supplier Quality Custom Distribution (QCD) in Fontana, California. Combined with MSRC grant funds, the company says the VFS leases provided through the program will reduce QCD’s total cost of operating the electric vehicles, making the trucks cost-competitive with existing diesel technology.
Through the Volvo LIGHTS project, and to further support the commercial availability of the Volvo VNR Electric, VFS has developed new vehicle leases and charging infrastructure financing solutions that reduce the barriers fleet customers can encounter when switching to zero-emission technologies.
Through the Volvo LIGHTS project, QCD recently took delivery of its first Volvo VNR Electric truck. With this additional order, QCD’s total fleet of VNR Electric trucks will reach 15 by the end of 2022, the company says. QCD, a Golden State Foods (GSF) company, currently operates a fleet of 700 Class 8 tractors, more than half of which are Volvo VNR and VNL models.
Through the project, a total of $37.2 million in MSRC funding is available to assist fleet owners in the Inland Empire in their transition to zero- or near-zero emission goods movement, helping to improve air quality for the region.
