Volvo Trucks North America and Mack Trucks announced Monday Vanguard Truck Centers has completed its Certified Electric Vehicle (EV) Dealer program at five locations — Phoenix, Atlanta (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. Mack Trucks also has its first Certified EV dealer in Arizona thanks to Vanguard's certification.
“Mack applauds Vanguard Truck Centers for demonstrating their commitment to building a more sustainable future,” says Jonathan Randall, president of Mack Trucks North America. “The investments made in becoming EV certified enhances our service network and helps customers transition toward a zero-tailpipe emission future.”
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“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,” adds 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.”
In earning these certifications, Vanguard took advantage of a new financing program offered to dealers by Volvo and Mack financial services divisions that enable 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.
“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,” says 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 says it 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, the company says.
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“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,” says 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.”
He adds, “We are very excited with the response from our customers regarding Vanguard’s commitment to Mack’s investment in electric vehicles. Additionally, these electric vehicles have resulted in ongoing discussions with conquest customers who have never purchased a Mack truck in the past.”
