Over 70 Volvo VNR Electric vehicles will be given to clients as part of the $21.5 million SWITCH-ON funding project, which is backed by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The federal government and the state of California are totally on board with the growing popularity of the Volvo VNR Electric semi. With the goal of improving air quality in Southern California, the SWITCH-ON initiative is supported by $19.5 million from the EPA’s Targeted Air Shed Grant Program and $2 million from South Coast AQMD for charging infrastructure.
Among the fleets slated to take part in the SWITCH-ON initiative are CEVA, Maersk, and IMC Logistics. Through 2025, the trucks will gather performance data for freight and drayage applications, which will offer insightful information to all of the trucks.
“There are challenges on the road to electro mobility adoption, but through close collaboration with public entities, utilities, manufacturers and other key industry partners, we can overcome these barriers and achieve our zero-emission goals,” says Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks North America. “We’re pleased to say that with successful collaboration, we’ve together been able to find solutions that are critical for these fleets and have been able to deploy the 70 Volvo VNR Electric trucks. By sharing our experiences and overcoming these challenges, we are paving the way for a broader industry adoption, just as we did with the Volvo LIGHTS project and our participation in the JETSI project.”
The first generation of commercially accessible Volvo VNR Electric trucks were the first 15 electric Class 8 tractors delivered; the remaining 55 will be next-generation versions with faster charge times and a longer range.
Maersk and CEVA have joined an expanding group of businesses, and they are already contributing to the tens of millions of miles that Volvo customers have traveled only on electric vehicles with zero emissions. Volvo will have produced its third generation of Class 8 EVs by the time its next-generation VNL and FH electric semis are released in the following year. These vehicles will be supported by over 100,000,000 miles of real-world data gathered by thousands of trucks from numerous firms.
The 70 Volvo VNR Electric trucks that are being used with this award are anticipated to reduce emissions by more than 152.63 tons of NOx, 1.317 tons of PM2.5, and 53,160 tons of CO2 throughout the course of their lifetimes in addition to adding more kilometers to the total. The whole range of pollution reduction options offered by electric semi trucks will be assessed, with the South Coast AQMD taking the lead in this endeavor.