Connect with us

News

Volvo VNR all-electric semi joins Martin Brower, McDonald’s Canada fleet

The Volvo VNR Electric, ideally suited for local and regional freight distribution, is now at work delivering supplies to McDonald’s restaurants in the Montreal area and helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the same time.

Published

on

Volvo Trucks North America said this morning it has introduced a Volvo VNR electric class 8 tractor into Martin Brower’s fleet of commercial vehicles in collaboration with McDonald’s Canada. Martin Brower, a leading supply chain solutions provider for restaurant chains around the world, will use the all-electric Volvo semi to pull McDonald’s-branded trailers for food and beverage deliveries around the Montreal area.

“We are excited to partner with our long-time customer Martin Brower to be the first to deploy a Volvo VNR Electric in Montreal in collaboration with McDonald’s Canada,” Paul Kudla, Managing Director of the Canadian division of Volvo Trucks North America, said. “It’s a strong statement when all key partners align towards clear greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. We look forward to continued collaborations with both organizations as they begin their electromobility journey.”

The Volvo VNR is suited for local and regional trips due to its 275-mile range. The semi packs a 250 kW charging capability that enables 80 percent charge in 90 minutes for the six-battery package or just an hour for the four-battery option, giving the truck a quick turnaround to make several trips a day. Martin Brower also installed an on-site charging infrastructure. The VNR’s range rating and charging rate are ideal for what Martin Brower will use its first Volvo VNR for, which is to deliver to McDonald’s restaurants within a range of 95 miles, or 150 kilometers, from the supply chain company’s distribution center in Montreal.

McDonald’s Canada will assess the performance and ability of the VNR electric truck with plans to scale alternative fuel vehicles into its fleet, servicing more than 1,400 restaurants across Canada. The company has committed to achieving net-zero emissions across its global operations by 2050.

“The trial of the VNR Electric model vehicle in Montreal is another example of how we continue to evolve our business to meet the current moment and rise to future challenges,” Jacques Mignault, McDonald’s Canada’s CEO and President said. “Together with Martin Brower and Volvo Trucks, we look forward to understanding how this trial can help us get closer to McDonald’s global net zero-emission goals.”

Advertisement

“Our goal is to deliver innovative and meaningful solutions to help restaurants, and our business create a more sustainable, ethical, and responsible future — every day, all over the world,” President of Martin Brower Canada Julie Dell’Aniello said. “By integrating the Volvo VNR Electric tractor into our fleet, we will gain valuable experience for future zero-tailpipe emission tractor deployments that will enable us to continue driving down Martin Brower’s greenhouse gas emissions so we can meet our sustainability targets.”

Volvo Trucks North America has been steadily ramping its VNR electric truck program. Last week, we reported that the Maersk-owned company Performance Team had ordered 110 additional units of the VNR from Volvo, bringing its commitment to 126 units of the truck, a record order.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

Comments

News

Here’s where Waymo is launching autonomous robotaxis next

Waymo has its sights set on three new U.S. cities in the months to come.

Published

on

Credit: Waymo

Google parent company Waymo has announced plans to bring its self-driving robotaxis to yet another U.S. city, adding to the list of those it plans to deploy the service to in the next several months.

On Tuesday, Waymo announced in a press release that it will be bringing its autonomous ride-hailing vehicles to Washington D.C. in 2026, after it recently announced plans to start deploying the services in Atlanta, Georgia, and Miami, Florida, sometime in 2025. The D.C. services will utilize the Waymo One app, unlike some of the cities which will roll out through a partnership agreement.

“Waymo One is making fully autonomous driving a reality for millions of people across the U.S.” said Tekedra Mawakana, Waymo Co-CEO. “We’re excited to bring the comfort, consistency, and safety of Waymo One to Washingtonians, those who work and play in the city every day, and the millions of people from around the world who travel to the District every year.”

The company says it plans to continue working closely with legislators on regulations needed to operate driverless vehicles in D.C. Additionally, Waymo says it’s currently operating over 200,000 fully autonomous, paid driverless ride-hails per week, as Tesla and others aim to enter the commercial robotaxi space in the coming months.

READ MORE ON WAYMO: Ex-Waymo CEO dismisses Tesla, Cybercab: ‘They’re a car company with a driver-assist system’

Advertisement

“I’ve experienced firsthand how safely the Waymo Driver operates around pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users,” writes Jonathan Adkins, the CEO of the Governors Highway Safety Association. “Waymo has worked with GHSA and our first responder network as they’ve expanded their service, always putting safety first. As someone who walks to work almost every day, I’m excited to share the road with Waymo in Washington, D.C.”

Waymo also recently launched its robotaxi services will deploy in a partnership with Uber in Austin, Texas, where Tesla also has a so-called Gigafactory and plans to roll out its own robotaxi services later this year. The company currently operates paid driverless ride-hailing or early testing in the following cities, primarily in the U.S.:

The news also comes as Tesla aims to roll out its first unsupervised drives with its in-house Full Self-Driving (FSD) software this summer, along with rolling out initial robotaxi ride-hailing services. While the company doesn’t currently operate any paid ride-hailing like Waymo One, the company’s vehicles can generate real-time training data from drivers with FSD Supervised engaged.

Waymo study analyzes collisions with vulnerable road users

Continue Reading

News

Tesla Superchargers open to Hyundai’s EVs in the U.S.

Hyundai and Genesis are the latest brands to gain access to Tesla’s charging network.

Published

on

Tesla’s Superchargers are now officially open to Hyundai’s electric vehicles (EVs) across the U.S., adding to the wave of auto brands that can now charge on the once-exclusive network.

In a press release on Tuesday, Hyundai announced that owners of the Kona electric, Ioniq hatchback, Ioniq 5, Ioniq 5 N, and Ioniq 6, can charge at Tesla Superchargers in the U.S. using a CCS to NACS adapter, which the company is offering complimentary to owners. The news is set to give access to roughly 20,000 Superchargers in the U.S., as Tesla continues to roll out access to non-Tesla EV brands across the industry.

Hyundai says that those who purchased their EVs prior to January 31, 2025 will begin receiving emails on how to claim the free NACS adapters starting the week of April 7. The news also comes after Hyundai was the first automaker to debut a native NACS port with the Ioniq 5, beginning late last year.

Advertisement

READ MORE ON HYUNDAI: Hyundai dives into the robotaxi business with TX-based startup

“Starting today, more Hyundai EV customers will have access to 20,000 Tesla Superchargers across North America, doubling their fast-charging options,” says Olabisi Boyle, Hyundai North America’s SVP of product planning and mobility strategy. “This move improves the public charging experience by giving our customers even more choice. It’s a vital part of our commitment to ease America’s transition to electric vehicle ownership.”

Currently, the news only applies to Superchargers in the U.S., though one spokesperson from the automaker told Teslarati that more details are expected to come about the launch of access in Canada later this year.

Tesla now lists Hyundai, and its subsidiary Genesis, on its website as EV brands that are able to charge at its Superchargers, along with several others which have been added in the past several months such as Polestar, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, Lucid, and Rivian, among others.

Hyundai also had record auto sales in the U.S. in 2024, with general retail sales up 4 percent and EV sales up 13 percent year over year.

Advertisement

Hyundai prepares for Trump’s tariffs with billion-dollar investment in the United States

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s simple message to vandals

Published

on

Justin Pacheco, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Tesla CEO Elon Musk had a simple and straightforward message to the vandals who continue to damage cars, showrooms, and Superchargers that the company and its owners utilize during an All-Hands meeting last week.

For the first time, Tesla and Musk broadcasted on X an All-Hands meeting the company held with its employees.

It seemed to be a justified response to skeptics and investors who have said that Musk has spent more time worrying about the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) than Tesla.

During the meeting, Musk showed the company’s roadmap for the remainder of 2025 and into 2026 and aimed to resolve any sort of skepticism regarding his commitment. He told the employees to “hang onto their stock,” and commented on Tesla’s future impact:

“It’s very difficult like for people in the stock market, especially those that look in the rearview mirror — which is most people — to imagine a future where suddenly a 10 million vehicle fleet has five to ten times the usefulness. It’s so profound and there’s no comparison with anything in the past that it does not compute. But it will compute in the future.”

Advertisement

However, Musk did not stop there. He also had a message for those who have gone out of their way to key, damage, and sometimes even destroy Tesla vehicles and showrooms.

Several locations have been hit with gunfire, Molotov cocktails, and other things, while owners are reporting petty vandalism like keying and slashing tires more frequently now than ever.

Musk’s message to the vandals was simple:

“This is psycho. Stop being psycho!”

He continued:

Advertisement

“If you read the news, it feels like, you know, Armageddon. It’s like, I can’t walk past the TV without seeing a Tesla on fire. Like, what’s going on? Some people, it’s like, listen, I understand if you don’t wanna buy our product, but you don’t have to burn it down. That’s a bit unreasonable.”

Tesla’s biggest haters have continued to spew violence toward the company and owners of its cars, with some even putting on bumper stickers that read things like “I bought this before Elon went crazy!” to hopefully divert attackers.

The company also has the help of the federal government. The FBI has already established a task force to help investigate instances of vandalism and violence against Tesla. Additionally, President Trump has said attacks against the company are being considered as domestic terrorism.

Continue Reading

Trending