With the addition of Vanguard Truck Centers’ five locations, the Volvo Trucks Certified EV Dealer network has expanded into 24 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces across North America.
Volvo Trucks North America announced that Vanguard Truck Centers has completed its Volvo Trucks Certified Electric Vehicle (EV) Dealer program at five locations — Phoenix, Ariz; Atlanta, Ga. (Forest Park); Charlotte, N.C.; and Austin and Houston, Texas — to provide comprehensive sales and service support for customers' electromobility journeys.
With the addition of Vanguard's five locations, Volvo Trucks has now expanded its Certified EV Dealer network into three additional states — Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina — bringing its total to 50 certified dealership locations in 24 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces across North America.
"It is inspiring to see Vanguard Truck Centers making the investment to certify multiple locations simultaneously across the United States and continuing the expansion of the Volvo Trucks electromobility ecosystem," said Peter Voorhoeve, president, Volvo Trucks North America.
"Cost is still a significant barrier to electrification, particularly at scale, and our colleagues at Volvo Financial Services recognize this as well as they've introduced new financing options for both our customers and dealers to support them with their shift to zero-emission solutions."
To become a Volvo Trucks Certified EV Dealer, Vanguard took advantage of a new financing program offered to dealers by Volvo Financial Services (VFS) that enabled its dealerships to install onsite charging stations and dedicated EV service bays, acquire diagnostic tools and personal protective equipment for technicians working with high-voltage systems, and purchase parts inventory for the VNR Electric model. Similarly, VFS recently introduced new financing options for fleets to support the cost of installing charging infrastructure, as well as service and maintenance plans.
"VFS now offers holistic solutions for customers that combine the entire EV ecosystem into a single, convenient payment. This enables fleets to distribute the cost of transitioning their fleet to battery-electric vehicles, rather than committing all their capital upfront," said Christopher Roback, vice president of sales and customer experience, Volvo Financial Services.
"This addresses the practical and financial considerations of adopting battery-electric trucks and will have a transformative impact on the evolving needs of fleets in the rapidly changing transportation landscape."
Founded in 1989, Vanguard Truck Centers serves the transportation industry with 26 modern facilities spanning Texas, Arizona, Missouri, Illinois, South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia. To support this demand, Vanguard has trained 10 technicians, two at each location, to perform routine battery-electric truck maintenance and repairs for customers' trucks in operation. The first five locations are now prepared with certified EV sales and service representatives to support customers as additional fleets begin to adopt zero-emission vehicles. The dealer group plans to continually evaluate each location for additional training and certification opportunities as market demand grows for zero-tailpipe emission solutions.
"We are very excited with the response from our customers regarding Vanguard's commitment to supporting electric vehicles. Battery-electric trucks are an important part of the future of trucking and our customers want to be a part of this exciting new technology — we are getting inquiries daily," said John Thomas, executive vice president of new truck sales, Vanguard Truck Centers.
"We have been having ongoing discussions with customers who have never purchased a Volvo Truck in the past but are interested in the technology and have heard the positive response to the Volvo VNR Electric truck and want to learn more."
For more information, visit www.volvotrucks.us.
This story also appears on Truck and Trailer Guide.
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