VW receives massive order of 1,600 all-electric trucks

VW has received what could very well be the largest order of all-electric trucks to date.

Ambev, an important Brazilian brewery, has committed to electrify its delivery fleet and placed an order for 1,600 all-electric trucks with Volkswagen.

Last year, VW announced plans for a $1.7 billion investment to bring electric trucks and buses to market.

They plan to launch several vehicles between all their brands.

One of their first electric trucks will be the ‘VW e-Delivery’ – pictured above.

The vehicle was developed by Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus, VW’s Brazilian division, and unveiled last year.

It features a 170 kWh battery pack, which enables up to 200 km (124 miles) of range on a single charge, according to the automaker.

Ambev, which is behind popular brands like Skol, Brahma, Antarctica and Guaraná, believes that it is sufficient for a vast number of its delivery routes and ordered 1,600 electric trucks to convert 1/3 of its delivery fleet by 2023.

Guilherme Gaia, Director of Logistics and Supply of Ambev, said about the announcement:

“Our dream is to bring people together for a better world. For that reason, we are always searching for partners who are engaged with the same causes to offer new technologies and processes that have a positive impact in the environment, like Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus. We are sure that this project will greatly contribute to the construction of the sustainable legacy we want to leave for future generations”,

The company plans to charge the trucks solely from renewable energy and expects that it will remove about 30.4K tons of carbon in its logistic chain per year.

Ambev’s commitment to the ‘VW e-Delivery’ is securing significant demand for Volkswagen.

Roberto Cortes, CEO of VW Caminhões e Ônibus, manufacturer of Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus and MAN brands, commented:

“Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus’ global development center, headquartered in Brazil, investigated and applied the best solutions available in the world and locally to satisfy our customers’ needs in low emission vehicles for emerging countries. Thanks to our 20-year long partnership with Ambev, we have been the first to develop commercial vehicles for beverage distribution. And now, once more, we sprint off together to enter the electric era.”

The ‘VW e-Delivery’ is officially going into production in 2020, but VW says that it will deliver the first vehicles to Ambev for a pilot program by the end of the year.

The entire fleet should be delivered to Ambev by 2023.