McDonald’s puts 10 Volvo VNR Electric class 8 semi trucks to work
Ten brand-new Volvo VNR Electric semi trucks will be supporting food and beverage deliveries to select McDonald’s restaurants in the greater Montreal and Toronto areas in the coming weeks.
Martin Brower is a supply chain solutions provider for global restaurant chains, and it’s actually Martin Brower, as McDonald’s logistical partner, that’s taking delivery of the ten electric Volvo semi trucks. “McDonald’s has been a like-minded collaborator for many decades with aligned goals,” said Julie Dell’Aniello, president, Martin Brower Canada. “Together, our companies share similar commitments to test alternative-fuel vehicles.”
The deployment of these 10 trucks by Martin Brower follows on from a pilot with the electric tractor in Montreal that was launched back in 2022.
“It’s exciting to see a powerhouse brand like McDonald’s working with their partners to help decarbonize the transportation of goods,” said Matthew Blackman, managing director for Canada, Volvo Trucks North America. “It’s a testament to the performance and reliability of the Volvo VNR Electric that these global leaders are choosing to scale their trial of battery-electric vehicles where feasible.”
Earlier this month, Volvo Trucks North America announced a new Truck-as-a-Service (TaaS) business model called Volvo on Demand designed, “to enable small and medium-sized truck fleets to minimize the upfront investments typically associated with transitioning to battery-electric vehicles, and free up credit lines that can be used towards business growth.”
Volvo began delivering electric trucks in 2018, and has continued to expand its commercial lineup with dedicated refuse models from both its Volvo and Mack Truck brands, as well as the new Mack MD Electric, production of which began earlier this year.
Electrek’s Take
Volvo’s first-mover position in the North American market has led to a number of companies choosing to adopt its HDEVs, and the anticipated next-generation VNL Electric will only give it a bigger lead in the space.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Volvo Trucks.
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China just laid out a plan to roll out over 100,000 ultra-fast EV charging stations by 2027 – and they’ll all be open to the public.
The National Development and Reform Commission’s (NDRC) joint notice, issued on Monday, asks local authorities to put together construction plans for highway service areas and prioritize the ones that see 40% or more usage during holiday travel rushes.
The NDRC notes that China’s ultra-fast EV charging infrastructure needs upgrading as more 800V EVs hit the road. Those high-voltage platforms can handle super-fast charging in as little as 10 to 30 minutes, but only if the charging hardware is up to speed.
China had 31.4 million EVs on the road at the end of 2024 – nearly 9% of the country’s total vehicle fleet. But charging access is still catching up. As of May 2025, there were 14.4 million charging points, or roughly 1 for every 2.2 EVs.
To keep the grid running smoothly, China wants new chargers to be smart, with dynamic pricing to incentivize off-peak charging and solar and storage to power the charging stations.
To make the business side work, the government is pushing for 10-year leases for charging station operators, and it’s backing the buildout with local government bonds.
The NDRC emphasized that the DC fast chargers built will be open to the public. This is a big deal because a lot of fast chargers in China aren’t. For example, BYD’s new megawatt chargers aren’t open to third-party vehicles.
As of September 2024, China had expanded its charging infrastructure to 11.4 million EV chargers, but only 3.3 million were public.
Read more: California now has nearly 50% more EV chargers than gas nozzles
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Tesla is starting to experience some consequences for misleading Full Self Driving customers – at least that’s the finding of one arbitration ruling that has Tesla refunding one customer $10,000 plus legal fees for failing to deliver on their promises. Find out more on today’s legally challenging episode of Quick Charge!
An arbitration “court” found that Tesla misled customers with its Full Self Driving product, and has now been forced to refund at least one person’s $10,000 payment (plus legal fees) for the not-quite autonomous driving software. France, too, is piling on claims of deceptive business practices – but there’s some good news for FSD fans! If you’re still willing to pay for it, Tesla will thrown in 0% financing on a brand new Cybertruck.
Check out the relevant links, below, to learn more.
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