One of last local transport industry announcements of 2022 was the launch of an electric truck trial by NZ dairy giants Fonterra and Volvo NZ (and its parent company Sime Darby Motors NZ). 

A new Volvo FL Electric is working for Fonterra in the Auckland metro region, carting pallet loads of general dry goods and non-refrigerated products. It’s part of an on-going ‘data gathering’ trial and is an addition to the fleet rather than a replacement. 

Paul Illmer, Vice President Emerging Technology Business Development at Volvo Group Australia says Volvo has a battery electric or fuel cell electric alternative for every Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) model on the market, either currently in production or at trial stage.

However, Illmer says the truck itself is only part of the solution when it comes to New Zealand’s transition to sustainable transport.

“Tools, expertise and infrastructure are essential to deliver operational peace of mind for New Zealand transport companies as they make the shift to e-mobility,” says Ilmer.

“Selecting the right model and specification for both application and route is critical, as is driver training, specialist aftersales support, and charging infrastructure.”

Fonterra Brands New Zealand Managing Director Brett Henshaw says the truck is an important step for the Co-op, as it looks to reduce emissions across its supply chain.

“Our objective is to fulfil our Co-op’s long-term commitment to be a leader in sustainability, while also upholding our customer commitments. It’s great to partner with Volvo Trucks NZ, and one of the largest groups supporting the New Zealand transport industry, Sime Darby Motors NZ.”

The Volvo Trucks NZ technical team has been preparing for electric trucks over the past year, flying to Volvo Global headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden for training. The team will train the Sime Darby Commercial aftersales network on processes required to prepare workshops to service electric trucks and become authorised EV repairers.

Scott Robinson, National Sales Manager Volvo Truck & Bus says the new FL Electric landed in NZ last year and spent a couple of months being evaluated at the Palmerston North support centre. It was then sent to Dometts to have its curtainside body fitted.

Robinson says Volvo has been fielding lots of enquiries about electric (and other alternative power sources) recently.

Based on the initial cost of purchase Volvo anticipates a four-to-five-year payback from diesel cost savings (better if more kms are travelled per year).

Volvo Truck’s target is to be carbon net zero by 2050 while the new FL truck is one part of Fonterra’s wider fleet decarbonisation journey. Last year Fonterra implemented a new policy that all light vehicles that can be electric to be transitioned when they are next replaced and aims to have more than 300 light electric vehicles by the end of 2023.

Volvo says no more electric Volvo’s are scheduled to arrive in the near future, but discussions are being held with a number of companies for similar EV trials.