Dawsongroup EMC, the supplier of self-drive vehicles on contract hire for the environmental, municipal and civil sectors, is taking delivery of seven electric trucks.
The order includes four Volvo FMX Electric 6×2 vacuum tankers, and three Volvo FE Electric 4×2 medium volume combinations (MVCs) for gully, mainline sewerage and drain work – all with bodywork from Whale Tankers.
They will join the operator’s fleet of about 1,600 commercial vehicles.
Supplied by Volvo Truck and Bus Centre South & East, each of the new vehicles can be charged back at base using either an overnight AC charger, or a DC fast-charger – which can restore the batteries to full capacity in under 2.5-hours.
The FMX Electrics have each been specified with the maximum of six batteries, ensuring 540 kWh of battery capacity, with a gearbox-driven PTO to power equipment on the vacuum tanks.
To maximise payload, the smaller Volvo FE Electric MVCs benefit from three batteries, giving 270 kWh of capacity.
As part of the specification process, Volvo Trucks completed a series of range and energy simulations with the Dawsongroup EMC team, factoring in the typical daily mileages and ancillary equipment usage for trucks operating in this sector, based on real customer data collected by Dawsongroup EMC.
Paul Beddows, Director of Sales at Dawsongroup EMC, said, “Customers increasingly want to discuss carbon reduction targets for all areas of their business, no matter how specialist the kit they operate.
“We knew the right thing to do was show them what was possible with electric trucks today, by building these examples and making them available on contract hire.”