Penske Truck Leasing took delivery of two VNR Electrics from Volvo Trucks North America, expanding its fleet of battery-electric Class 8 models available in Southern California.

Penske’s first Volvo VNR Electrics will be used by two consumer retail companies. The trucks were deployed as part of the Volvo LIGHTS (Low Impact Green Heavy Transport Solutions) project—a collaboration with the South Coast Air Quality Management District and 12 other organizations to develop a blueprint to successfully introduce battery-electric trucks and equipment into the market at scale.    

“With Penske Truck Leasing operating over 330,000 vehicles globally, Volvo Trucks sees this as an incredible opportunity to collaborate with their team to deploy zero tailpipe emission VNR Electrics and help other businesses achieve their sustainable transportation goals,” said Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks North America, in a press release.

Penske has been testing fleet electrification in Southern California for years. In 2018, Penske also partnered with Daimler Trucks North America to operate the Freightliner Electric Innovation Fleet, a fleet of electric vehicles, which included 10 Freightliner eCascadias heav-duty and 10 eM2 medium-duty trucks.

⚡️The Freightliner eCascadia will be one of the first all-electric trucks from @DaimlerTrucksNA. Production starts in 2022. @FleetChrisBrown hops in to give us an inside look! #ecascadia#batteryelectricpic.twitter.com/iphmq62mVn

— Heavy Duty Trucking (@HDTrucking) June 4, 2021

In 2020, Roush CleanTech provided Penske with Ford F-650 battery-electric vehicles to deploy in Southern California.

“Penske is committed to testing and providing its customers with the latest EV technologies and enabling fleet operators to drive improved sustainability within their operations,” said Paul Rosa, senior vice president procurement and fleet planning at Penske.