Coca-Cola Canada Bottling announced that the company has purchased six Volvo VNR Electric trucks as part of a pilot program. The pilot program will examine the feasibility of using electric trucks as part of the delivery fleet throughout the Greater Montreal Area.
The six new trucks will be delivered throughout 2023. However, neither Volvo nor Coca-Cola Bottling Canada confirmed the exact delivery schedule.
Per Volvo, the battery-electric trucks have a 440 km range on a single charge. Coca-Cola Bottling plans to have the new trucks run several 150 km round trips daily during the pilot.
Todd Parsons, Chief Executive Officer at Coca-Cola Canada Bottling Limited, had this to say:
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.
Coca-Cola Canada Bottling is installing three 150 kW DC chargers to support the fleet at its Montreal distribution location. The company expects the charging infrastructure to be up and running by June 2023, which will also support its Ford E-Transit vans already being tested in Montreal.
This is not the only pilot program Coca-Cola Canada is doing with electric vehicles (EVs). Last year the company deployed three Ford E-Transit light-duty electric vans which are being used to help serve the company’s 16,000 clients in the Montreal region.
Coke Canada Bottling launches EV pilot program in Montreal with Ford E-Transit vans
