Performance Team has deployed its first Class 8 battery-electric trucks from Volvo Trucks North America in Southern California in response to customer demand for sustainable short-haul warehouse and distribution center operations. The Volvo VNR Electric trucks are designed to handle local and regional distribution with a range of up to 275 miles on a single charge.

Performance Team expects to deploy 126 Volvo Electric trucks in North America by Q3 2023. By the end of October 2022, 30 Volvo VNR Electric trucks will be in operation, including 16 in Performance Team’s Santa Fe Springs, California distribution center and 14 in Performance Team’s Commerce, California distribution center. The rest of the 126 Volvo Trucks VNR Electric order will be filled by Q3 2023, and future deployment locations will be determined by customer demand and location needs.

“Customers are looking for more tangible, sustainable options in their supply chain to satisfy their long-term climate change goals and their immediate business needs in short-haul trucking. So, we’re working closely with our partners at Volvo Trucks North America and TEC Equipment on electromobility solutions to define a new supply chain eco-chapter in our operations,” said Jason Walker, Executive Vice President of Operations for Performance Team.

Performance Team worked closely with the sales team at TEC Equipment - Fontana, a Volvo Trucks’ Certified EV Dealership, and Volvo Trucks North America to identify the ideal Volvo VNR Electric configurations needed to run their daily freight routes. In addition, the partners leveraged Volvo Trucks’ Electric Performance Generator (EPG) tool, which simulated Performance Team’s real-world routes to determine which ones were best suited for the Volvo VNR Electric trucks, taking into consideration environmental factors such as speed, payload, terrain, and ambient temperature. The EPG also considers specific route details, including traffic patterns, to determine if an opportunity charge would be required.

“Introducing any new technology into your fleet operations can come with a learning curve, which we are definitely seeing as customers make the switch from diesel to battery-electric trucks. It is inspiring to see our very first Volvo Trucks Certified EV Dealer working side-by-side with the largest Volvo VNR Electric fleet in the world, both of which are fully committed to facilitating the widespread adoption of zero-tailpipe emission transportation solutions,” said Jared Ruiz, acting head of electromobility sales for North America, at Volvo Trucks North America. “TEC Equipment and Performance Team are taking a trailblazing role in demonstrating how a dealership and customer can collaborate to maximize the benefits of battery-electric trucks when they are deployed into fleet operations at scale.”

The scaled deployment of zero-tailpipe emission Volvo VNR Electric models is part of the company’s environment, social and governance (ESG) strategy to decarbonize logistics. Its California-based fleet operates 215 trucks, which Performance Team intends to fully transition from diesel to battery-electric trucks. The 126 Volvo VNR Electric trucks are the first step in that plan, as well as creating new charging infrastructure to support its battery-electric fleet.

“Both Volvo Trucks and TEC Equipment continue to go above and beyond to support Performance Team’s growing battery-electric fleet. One example is the ongoing training they are providing to help our drivers optimize the range of the Volvo VNR Electric, including how to leverage regenerative braking benefits to add power back to the battery,” said Michael Gallagher, head of indirect sourcing, North America, at Performance Team. “Overall, our drivers have had a very positive experience with the Volvo VNR Electric Trucks.

Performance Team is also taking advantage of the Volvo Gold Contract, Volvo Trucks’ premier service offering for the VNR Electric model, a turn-key solution for the first six years of ownership that allows customers to have operational peace of mind knowing they have access to 24/7 support, including tow services, should any issues arise. As part of the Volvo Gold Contract, TEC Equipment provides comprehensive services to Performance Team’s fleet including scheduled and preventative maintenance, towing and vehicle repair including the vehicle’s energy storage unit and the complete electromobility system, to ensure peak vehicle uptime, performance, and productivity.

As a Certified Uptime Dealer, TEC Equipment has a goal of diagnosing customer trucks within two hours of being brought in for service to minimize downtime and get trucks back on the road quickly. The Uptime Services bundle from Volvo Trucks has been enhanced for the Volvo VNR Electric to include a battery monitoring service that further supports customer uptime and peak operating conditions.

“TEC Equipment is dedicated to providing our customers with a seamless transition to battery-electric trucks. It’s exciting to help Performance Team move beyond just a few battery-electric trucks to a full fleet and figure out how to make that functional and cost-effective,” said Tracey Craik, regional sales director, TEC Equipment. “We have a customer-focused approach at all of our dealer locations and collaborate with customers on an ongoing basis to ensure they are prepared and supported along every step of their electromobility journey.”

Prologis – a warehouse partner of Performance Team has installed an electric charging station at Performance Team’s Santa Fe Springs, California site in Q2 2022 and will add a charging station to Performance Team’s Commerce, California’s site in November 2022. More details will be shared in time.

Performance Team ordered 126 Volvo VNR Electric trucks earlier this year as part of an ambitious order of 450 electric trucks to learn more about EV operations and battery technology that support Maersk’s global decarbonization goals. Maersk’s Environment Social Governance (ESG) strategy is to decarbonize logistics. The strategy is a key driver for zero carbon operations in trucking and an important part of Maersk’s goal of enterprise-wide, carbon neutral operations by 2040 with significant steps to be taken by 2030. In the State of California, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has regulations that require diesel trucks to transition to zero emissions by 2030.