Montreal, Quebec, April 13, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Volvo Trucks North America today announced Coca-Cola Canada Bottling Limited (Coke Canada Bottling) is acquiring six Volvo VNR Electric trucks, as part of a pilot program to service their iconic ‘Red Fleet’ customer delivery routes throughout the Greater Montreal Area. The six trucks are the first Class 8 battery-electric trucks in the beverage distributor’s fleet of 650 heavy-duty vehicles to service customers throughout the region. Coke Canada Bottling is the first Canadian food and beverage manufacturer to use zero-tailpipe emission trucks and all six Volvo VNR Electric trucks will be delivered throughout 2023.
As part of Coke Canada Bottling’s Toward a Better Future Together environmental sustainability action plan, the 6x4 Volvo VNR Electric trucks will contribute to the company’s goal of reducing carbon emissions from direct sources and supplied energy by 46.2% by 2030. Coke Canada Bottling is taking action on fuel efficiencies in their fleet through electrification and the usage of alternative fuel sources. It currently has several light-duty electric service vehicles in the Greater Montreal Area and uses B20 biofuels on all trucks newer than 2012. To date, these initiatives have led to a savings of more than 1500 tonnes of C02.
Volvo Trucks hosted a Demo Day on April 13 at Coke Canada Bottling’s Montreal distribution center for delivery drivers to test drive the new battery-electric trucks. Participants learned ways to optimize the Volvo VNR Electric’s range, such as leveraging regenerative braking benefits to add power back to the battery.
“Coke Canada Bottling is making tremendous strides towards their environmental sustainability goals by adding Volvo VNR Electric trucks to their fleet to service their beverage customers in the greater Montreal region,” said Peter Voorhoeve, President, Volvo Trucks North America. “It was an excellent opportunity to mark this clean fleet milestone during Earth Month with Coke Canada’s employees and is a tremendous honor to partner with them as they continue their electromobility transition.”
The battery-electric fleet features a six-battery configuration that can cover up to 440 km (275 miles) on a single charge, as the trucks make several daily round trips of 150 km (93 miles) from the company’s distribution center in Montreal to customer locations.
“Our ‘Red Fleet’ is iconic on the roads of our country and, as we strive to become the leading beverage partner in Canada, we’re extremely proud to partner with Volvo Trucks to be the first Canadian food and beverage manufacturer to use battery-electric trucks,” says Todd Parsons, Chief Executive Officer at Coca-Cola Canada Bottling Limited. “The electrification of our fleet is a key component of our plan to reduce direct carbon emissions. We know we continue to have work to do and look forward to working together with Volvo Trucks on opportunities to expand this pilot in years to come where it makes sense. We recognize we have a responsibility to effectively manage our environmental impact and we are working to decrease the emissions from our fleet.”
To support charging its battery-electric fleet, Coke Canada Bottling is also installing three 150 kW DC chargers with nine dispensers at its Montreal distribution center. The charging infrastructure is anticipated to be complete in June 2023.
Coke Canada Bottling utilized federal and provincial incentives (Écocamionnage and the iMHZEV programs) for Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicles funding to offset the cost of the six Volvo VNR Electric trucks.
To learn more about Volvo Trucks North America and the Volvo VNR Electric, visit volvotrucks.us/trucks/vnr-electric.
To learn more about Coke Canada Bottling’s environmental sustainability action plan, please visit CokeCanada.com/sustainability.
For further information, please contact:
Kyle Zimmerman
Public Relations Manager, Volvo Trucks North America
kyle.zimmerman@volvo.com
(704) 677-9757
Marissa Wener
Communications Manager for Corporate Social Responsibility, Coca-Cola Canada Bottling Limited
mwener@cokecanada.com
(647) 526-4204
Volvo Trucks North America, headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, is one of the leading heavy-duty truck manufacturers in North America. Its Uptime Services commitment is delivered by a network of nearly 400 authorized dealers across North America and the 24/7 Volvo Trucks Uptime Center. Every Volvo truck is assembled in the Volvo Trucks New River Valley manufacturing facility in Dublin, Virginia, which meets the internationally recognized ISO 9001 standard for quality, 14001 standard for environmental care and holds a dual ISO 50001/Superior Energy Performance certification at the platinum level, indicating a sustained excellence in energy management. Volvo Trucks North America provides complete transport solutions for its customers, offering a full range of diesel, alternative-fuel and all-electric vehicles, and is part of the Volvo Trucks global organization.
Volvo Trucks supplies complete transport solutions for discerning professional customers with its full range of medium- and heavy-duty trucks. Customer support is provided via a global network of dealers with 2,300 service points in about 130 countries. Volvo trucks are assembled in 12 countries across the globe. In 2022 approximately 145,000 Volvo trucks were delivered worldwide. Volvo Trucks is part of the Volvo Group, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of trucks, buses, construction equipment and marine and industrial engines. The group also provides complete solutions for financing and service. Volvo Trucks’ work is based on the core values of quality, safety and environmental care.
Coke Canada Bottling proudly makes, distributes, merchandises, and sells the most loved beverages Canadians enjoy including: Coca-Cola®, Diet Coke®, Coca-Cola® Zero Sugar, Sprite®, Fanta®, Barq’s®, NESTEA®, POWERADE®, DASANI®, vitaminwater®, and distributes partner brands Canada Dry®, Monster Energy®, and A&W®. The Coke Canada Bottling family is a team determined to create a better future and deliver optimism by bringing sustainable value for our employees, customers and consumers, growing our business responsibly, and making a positive difference in the communities where we operate.
Montreal is home to over 450 diverse Coke Canada Bottling employees. Locally, Coke Canada Bottling services approximately 16,000 customers and makes and packages over 67 skus into 7 different packages resulting in close to 25 million cases of product a year including Coca-Cola®, Canada Dry®, A&W® and Monster products as well as the recently introduced Dasani available in 100% recycled PET. Coke Canada Bottling annually injects over $70 million into the Montreal economy through local vendors and partners and actively support community partners including Big Brothers Big Sisters, Accueil Bonneau and Dans la Rue.
Visit http://www.CokeCanada.com to learn more.
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Lawren Markle GNA for Volvo Trucks North America 424-224-5364 lawren.markle@gladstein.org
