Volvo to sell VNR Electric chargers directly to customers

Volvo Trucks North America has started a program to directly sell electric vehicle (EV) chargers to dealers and fleet customers. The Vendor Direct Shipping program provides customers the opportunity to procure mobile and fixed charging hardware solutions directly from Volvo Trucks dealers when they purchase Volvo VNR Electric trucks, according to a company press release.

“The Vendor Direct Shipping program is a simple and effective method of ordering charging hardware for customers purchasing VNR Electric trucks. The Volvo Trucks dealer will be able to log in to the parts portal and order chargers just as they would to order any truck part,”  VTNA president Peter Voorhoeve said. “As we’ve said from the beginning, the purchase of a VNR Electric is more than just a truck, it’s a total transportation solution and providing our customers with reliable charging hardware is a key pillar in that process.”

Beginning this October, customers can purchase charging hardware when they buy a Volvo VNR Electric truck. Customers will have two chargers from Heliox to choose from initially: a 50kW mobile DC fast charger (single port CCS1) or a 180kW flex DC fast charger (up to three CCS-1 dispensers). Volvo Trucks will continue to expand its offerings and partners as more and more fleets begin to adopt battery-electric trucks.

Customers participating in the program can also work with participating vendors to develop tailored and scalable infrastructure to ensure the battery-electric trucks are being charged efficiently while making the best use of available power. Heliox is the first provider to participate and has a team of EV charging experts and partners to monitor the project—from delivery, setup, commissioning, testing, training, operations, and beyond.

“Heliox is excited to mature our partnership with Volvo Trucks. After many great projects over the past year, this agreement will make it exponentially easier for Volvo Trucks dealers and end users to procure everything they need to kickstart their EV fleet projects, said David Aspinwall, president, Heliox North America. “By giving them simplified access to our full portfolio of CCS-1 products, future e-mobility programs can now happen faster and with greater efficiency.”

This article originally appeared on FleetOwner.com.