“Orchard of Europe” edges toward 100% electric transport

Volvo Trucks has delivered 15 refrigerated electric trucks to Grupo Primafrio. The trucks of type Volvo FH Electric will collect fruits and vegetables in the Spanish Murcia region, known as the Orchard of Europe. The Group says this transitions its regional operations to 100% electric. 

However, it is just part of the supply chain since the groceries from Murcia are ultimately headed to Germany’s Edeka supermarkets on routes not served by Grupo Primafrio. At the same time, Edeka supported its logistics partner in acquiring the electric trucks from Volvo. José Esteban Conesa, President of Grupo Primafrio, highlighted that this was “a joint project that allows us to add value to the supply chain”. In which manner, for example, through co-funding, remains open. Still, Magnus Kulwicke, Head of Sustainability at Edeka Spain, and Eugen Dobler, Head of Logistics at Edeka in Valencia, attended the handover ceremony for the new trucks.

The handover took place at Grupo Primafrio’s headquarters in Alhama de Murcia. The depot already boasts the necessary charging infrastructure with ten superchargers supplied by Power Electronics.

Grupo Primafrio claims to be among the six companies in the logistics and transport sector with the best ESG rating worldwide.

The new Volvo trucks are the first of their kind to arrive in Spain.

Apart from Edeka, the company has also received aid through the regional government’s Next Generation fund for greening the transport sector. The amount of funding is undisclosed.

“The cooperation of the government of Murcia to promote the acquisition of this type of vehicle and Primafrio’s trust in Volvo, together with the commitment of Edeka, have been key to making this electromobility project a reality,” states the joint announcement.

The 15 Volvo FH electric tractors have been incorporated as a turnkey solution, including maintenance and repair, fleet management and financing through Volvo Financial Services.

Volvo Trucks started series production of heavy electric trucks in September 2022 and says it is currently the manufacturer with the widest range of such BEV trucks in the industry. The company positions the FH Electric in the regional and supra-regional segment alongside FM Electric (for regional, heavy transport) and FMX Electric for construction logistics.

All three series combine three electric motors with Volvo Trucks’ I-Shift transmission. Peak power is 490 kW, and continuous power is 315 kW. The six batteries have a combined energy content of 540 kWh, which Volvo claims amounts to a range of 300 kilometres.

Volvo Trucks targets 50% of all new trucks sold worldwide to be electric by 2030.

volvotrucks.es (in Spanish), twitter.com