Greener fleet choices that don’t compromise. Our review of the Volvo 19T Electric Truck

As part of our plan for a greener future at the Monex Group, we continue to look at alternative fuels and electric goods vehicles. Though long distance heavy EVs seem to still be a step away, our interest in last miles rigid vehicles for our pallet network has heightened with some recent offerings from the main manufacturers.

During the past three weeks we have vigorously tested the Volvo FL 19T Electric truck to explore its integration into the fleet. Having already installed solar panels on our warehouses and changed company cars to electric, this would be our first foray into the EV goods vehicle market.

As a business, the environment is at the core of all vehicle purchasing. We operate Euro 6 engines across the entirety of our 150-vehicle fleet, and it goes without saying that the carbon and environmental benefits would be further enhanced with this electric truck, but the team was definitely a little sceptical about whether or not the start-stopping nature of deliveries in towns and urban areas would be compromised.

It's safe to say those worries went away within minutes, and Daniel Mackerness who tested the Volvo 19T Electric for three weeks for us had this to say: 

The electric truck is totally fit for purpose. As a multi-drop driver, I was sceptical at first, I questioned if it would have the juice to do a full day's work. That doubt was quickly squashed; on my busiest day I only used two thirds of the energy. That’s including driving, operating the tail lift, and having the vehicle’s lights on all day. No more fuelling up at the end of the day, all you have to do is put the charging cable into the charging socket on both the vehicle and charging station and it’ll be full and ready to go the next day. Easy as that.

I also found operating the controls on the dashboard very easy. No need to read a manual and no unnecessary buttons, switches, or dials. It’s completely user-friendly and the most inexperienced of drivers would figure everything out in less than a minute.

I’ve been surprised about how many questions I’ve received from our customers about the vehicle; people have been genuinely interested and many have said it’s the first 100% electric truck they’ve seen. It’s even started interesting and friendly conversations from regular customers, who in the past have been short of words. I couldn’t praise this truck more highly. 10/10 from me!

Following this successful trial, the team is now reviewing the options to move to an electric fleet, and we hope to announce some good news on this very soon.

We’ve come a long way since we started in the 1970s and we strive to continuously innovate, but you can read more about the history of the company here.