Melbourne headquartered logistics heavyweight Toll Group announced last week that it had launched five new Volvo electric trucks in partnership with Asahi Beverages which will operate across metropolitan Perth.
Continuing the expansion of its national heavy electric vehicle (EV) program, Toll revealed last week the launch of five Volvo FE electric rigid trucks which will operate from Asahi’s Forrestfield Distribution Centre, east of Perth.
The five trucks will be used for metropolitan beverage distribution in Perth and are expected to complete over 36,000 deliveries per year, transporting kegs and packaged beer, liquor, and non-alcoholic beverages to bottle shops and licensed venues across the city.
Each truck is capable of travelling up to 270 kilometres on a single charge, and will replace diesel-powered trucks, helping to collectively abate 140 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.
Each truck features a 12-pallet tautliner body, with the cab in Toll’s recognisable blue-green, and the trailer sporting the livery of Asahi, which is known for making some of Australia’s most iconic beer brands, including Carlton Dry, Victoria Bitter, and Balter.
The five trucks, along with three dedicated dual-port 60 kW DC charging stations installed at Asahi’s Forrestfield site, are part of a joint investment between the two companies, and part of Toll’s much larger efforts to ramp up the number of electric vehicles in its national delivery fleet.
“This milestone builds on our longstanding partnership with Asahi and represents the next step in our shared decarbonisation journey,” said Nick Vrckovski, president of retail and consumer at Toll Group.
“By deploying electric trucks across Perth’s high-volume metro network, we’re showing how lower-emissions transport can be achieved at scale, without compromising service reliability, safety or customer needs.”
Toll is committing $67 million to delivery battery electric heavy vehicles and charging infrastructure across the county, thanks in part to funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) through its ‘Driving the Nation’ program.
Toll has launched electric rigids and prime movers nationwide with major grocery and beverage customers such as Coca-Cola and Coles, as well as Australian steel producer BlueScope, and Australia’s biggest energy retailer, Origin Energy. The rollout of battery electric trucks is creating the largest third-party deployment of battery electric heavy vehicles in Australia.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.