Tim Horton’s is rolling out fully electric semi trucks for last-mile delivery in B.C. and Ontario.
Tim Horton’s announced it has acquired two Volvo VNR Electric trucks, which are class 8 trucks that are fully electric.
It’s expected battery electric power will never work for long-haul semi trucks, due to the weight of the batteries they would need to haul heavy weights for long distances. But battery electric can work for shorter hauling distances, such as last-mile delivery. The new Volvos that Tim Hortons has acquired are expected to service daily routes of 150 to 200 kilometres.
The Volvo VNR electric trucks feature a six-battery pack, and have a maximum range of 440 kilometres. It takes 90 minutes to recharge them to 80 per cent. Tim Hortons has installed DC fast-chargers at its distribution centres.
Pacific Coast Heavy Truck Group in Langley will provide the servicing for the truck. The Langley company has completed the training required and made facility upgrades in order to service battery electric trucks and become a certified Volvo electric vehicle dealer.
“We’re really excited to now have one of the first electric transport trucks of its kind on the road here in Canada and another coming very soon,” Tim Hortons president Axel Schwan said in a news release. “Each electric truck is expected to travel up to 100,000 kilometres per year while producing zero tailpipe emissions and reduce our use of more than 25,000 litres of diesel fuel per vehicle annually.”
