Beer hauler chooses Volvo VNR Electric for maintenance efficiency and environment

On August 12, Volvo Trucks North America delivered a VNR Electric to Manhattan Beer Distributors—becoming the first Class 8 battery-electric vehicle in operation on the East Coast.

Manhattan Beer Distributors, operating throughout the five boroughs and Metro New York, are familiar when it comes to alternative energy. The company’s fleet of over 400 vehicles has half of them spec’d to operate with compressed natural gas (CNG); their first CNG vehicle was introduced to the fleet in 2001, which then grew to 45 CNG trucks over three years and has continued to grow well beyond that.

“We are actually using 1.3-1.35 million gallons of less diesel,” said Juan Corcino, senior director of fleet operations and sustainability at Manhattan Beer Distributors. “With 1 million diesel-equivalent compressed natural gas, we are producing about 800 tons [fewer] of NOx emissions a year from our fleet. Now we are burning over 1 million gallons of diesel-equivalent compressed natural gas instead of diesel. Our diesel fuel usage went from 1.5 million gallons, now we are burning about 350,000 gallons. Our fleet doubled in size and diesel use is down to one-quarter.”

In its move toward alternative energies, Simon Bergson, founder, president, and CEO of Manhattan Beer Distributors, said, “It is the right thing to do for our planet, for the future, and for the community.” The company’s most recent move in this transition was onboarding the Volvo VNR Electric.

“Diesel is our hardest part [of our operations],” Corcino explained. “You have a lot of maintenance… By going to CNG, you eliminate about 40% of the parts that can break down on the truck and you reduce the maintenance. You have a more reliable vehicle; more reliable in cold weather—the diesel freezes, natural gas doesn’t freeze in the winter. [It is] less service, less maintenance.

The transition from diesel to CNG was one thing, but bringing in Class 8 electric trucks is another feat altogether. Of course, there were questions at the onset of such an endeavor.

“The first thing we discussed before we placed the order of the electric truck was, ‘Who will maintain this truck? What is the warranty on it? Where do I train my guys?’” Corcino related. “Barry Milea and Volvo, together, they came up with a plan where this truck has six years [of] full maintenance included. We do not have to touch the truck. If there is any problem with the truck, Barry will send his people on-site. He is committed to on-site maintenance for six years. Hopefully by then, we have a very clear vision of how to work on the truck, how to maintain it, and train our mechanics.”

“When we converted, first, to compressed natural gas, we had to train all our drivers, we had to train all of our mechanics, we had to get licensed by the City of New York Fire Department in order to be able to fill the vehicles,” Bergson said. “Whatever training has to be done, we will adhere to it, and we will adapt.”

Volvo Trucks dealership Milea Truck Sales and Leasing, which serves New York City and the tri-state area, is Volvo Trucks’ first East Coast Volvo EV Certified Dealer.

“Volvo worked with us from the beginning and walked us through the whole system,” said Barry Milea, president of Milea Truck Sales and Leasing, on the process of becoming a Volvo EV Certified Dealer. “It is a very expensive proposition for the dealer to be certified. Number one, training [and] the cost of the equipment that you need. But again, we’re committed to electric vehicles. We’re committed to alternative energy vehicles… Volvo has been extremely supportive and very helpful in the process.”

In conjunction with the delivery of the VNR Electric to Manhattan Beer Distributors, the dealership installed heavy-duty-capable charging infrastructure onsite, and its service team has been fully trained and equipped to safely perform battery-electric truck maintenance and repairs.

The dealership group has made significant investments to upgrade its facilities to service battery-electric vehicles, such as a dedicated service bay and infrastructure for charging, in addition to stocking up on necessary parts and key components for the Volvo VNR Electric to secure truck uptime and operations.

“As Volvo Trucks’ first Volvo EV Certified Dealer on the East Coast, we’re excited to help our fleet customers make the successful transition to electric trucks in their fleet operations,” Milea said. “Volvo Trucks is on the cutting edge in EV commercial product offerings and production, and the Volvo VNR Electric, along with the Volvo EV Certified Dealer program, is the gold standard.”

To maintain its high safety and reliability standards, Volvo Trucks has designed its rigorous Volvo EV Certified Dealer program to ensure professional pre-sales consultancy to secure a commercially and technically viable electromobility solution for its customers. On the aftermarket side, the certification secures technicians have the proper technical training and understand all safety procedures when servicing electric drivetrains and components. The certification also includes investments in diagnostics tools.

The industry, as a whole, has felt the pressures to adhere to emissions reductions and the adoption of new technologies to successfully carry out the goals of a greener future. It is one thing to prepare for this future, and it is another to put it into action.

“Getting started is the most important thing we can do right now in order to really work with climate change,” said Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks North America. “We have now—we are in production, and we are live—an electric truck solution. Which is scalable, because it is built at our plant in Virginia, and built on the same lines where we build all our other trucks. Scalability is there. And then, with partners like Manhattan Beer that are bold enough to take this step, and together with partners like Milea—now we are making a change!

“But for me, what is very important right now, is that it’s happening. It’s here. It’s now. You can order it, manufacture it, touch it, service it, drive it, and immediately, as of tomorrow, the air will be a little bit cleaner in New York City than it was yesterday.”