While the adoption of electric trucks is still a long way off in South Africa, if the term ‘fleet transition’ has you conjuring up a distant future where trucks powered by clean energy glide silently over sustainable road surfaces, you’ll be snapped back to ‘right now’ with this news: Volvo Trucks has received an order for 300 electric trucks from the world’s fifth-largest logistics company, DSV.
No, it’s not in South Africa. It’s in Europe where Volvo Trucks and DSV (which has a large fleet in South Africa) have signed a co-operation agreement for 300 electric heavy trucks, making the deal one of the largest commercial orders to date for Volvo electric trucks. With the order, DSV will have one of the largest company fleets of heavy electric trucks in Europe.
According to Søren Schmidt, CEO, DSV Road: “DSV is moving quickly towards a more sustainable future on the roads and highways. Every day more than 20 000 trucks are transporting goods for the company’s customers around the world and a growing number will become electric or run on renewable fuels in the years to come.”
Transition to 2 000 electric trucks by 2030
Volvo Trucks, DSV and DSV contractors are working collaboratively for the deployment of the 300 zero-exhaust emission Volvo electric trucks across DSV operations in Europe as part of the company’s plan to deploy 2000 electric trucks in its fleet by 2030.
The agreement also includes 500 Volvo trucks with highly fuel-efficient diesel and gas drivelines to be delivered between 2024 and 2026.
“Collaboration across sectors is key to battle climate change and we are happy to extend our partnership with Volvo in our joint effort to reduce emissions in the transport industry,” says Schmidt. “As a global leader in logistics, we must try to stay at the forefront of the green transition and this agreement is a fantastic example of how new technologies can be brought to market at scale to make them more accessible for our customers.”
The new trucks being supplied to DSV will include the new Volvo FH Aero Electric, which has improved aerodynamics, effectively enhancing its energy efficiency.
Interestingly, DSV is the largest transporter of goods for the Volvo Group with a number of electric trucks from Volvo currently in its fleet servicing Sweden and Denmark. DSV has established charging infrastructure using electricity from solar panels at its distribution centres in both countries.
Taking green trucking around the world
Roger Alm, President Volvo Trucks states: “Since 2019, Volvo Trucks has delivered more than 3 800 electric trucks to customers in 46 countries around the world. Volvo currently offers eight fully electric models meeting the needs in a wide range of applications – from urban distribution and waste management to regional haul and construction. To date, Volvo’s electric trucks have driven more than 90 million kilometers in operation.”
“I’m very proud to deepen the partnership we have with DSV. Collaboration and a strong commitment to really make a difference are essential for making sustainable transport and big CO2 reductions a reality. This order is proof of their trust in our company and shows that zero-exhaust emissions transport is a viable solution here and now.”
Both DSV and Volvo Group have committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which drives ambitious climate action in the private sector in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
“The deal with Volvo is an important step towards enabling a more sustainable future in trucking,” concludes Schmidt.
It is clear, in FleetWatch’s eyeglass, that multinational corporations will drive the fleet transition process for quite some time and extend their ‘green compliance’ and ESG credentials (and value) to their customers, wherever they may operate in the global supply chain.
Kudos to DSV and Volvo Trucks for helping to establish a pioneering vanguard for clean trucking. All the best for the further roll-out of the DSV transition and a hearty “Skål!” to all involved.
