Volvo Trucks gets largest BEV order in Denmark

Unicon, a producer and supplier of ready-mixed concrete in Denmark, intends to place the largest private single order to date for electric trucks that will run on Danish roads.

The 11 Volvo FM Electric trucks will start being delivered in the end of the year. In addition, Unicon and Volvo Trucks have agreed on a long-term collaboration that aims to develop and implement complete truck and body electric solutions for the concrete industry.

Volvo is supplying 11 of its FE electric trucks to concrete company Unicon in Denmark.

Unicon is Denmark’s oldest and largest producer and supplier of ready-mixed concrete with 35 factories and more than 400 employees throughout the country. It produces about 1 million cubic meters of concrete annually and has its own fleet of 195 trucks.

The company has defined a target to reduce CO2 emissions from its fleet by 30% in 2025 versus 2019. At the same time, Unicon has a strategy to make its fleet of truck mixers emissions-free in 2035.

Unicon is part of the Aalborg Portland Group, which is owned by Italian Cementir Holding.

After gaining good experience with a Volvo FE Electric, Unicon is now taking the next big step towards emissions-free distribution by introducing a new generation of electric truck mixers with longer range and higher payload. The company intends to place the country’s largest private single order to date for 11 Volvo FM Electric models that will be converted to truck mixers and operate in Denmark.

In addition, Unicon and Volvo Trucks have entered into a long-term collaboration to implement and optimize electric solutions for the concrete industry. The collaboration aims to give Unicon the opportunity to put electric truck mixers into operation that match all needs in connection with efficient and sustainable distribution of ready-mixed concrete.

“With this major order and ambitious collaboration agreement, we are putting tangible actions behind our CO2 emission targets for our distribution,” said Christian Elleby, Supply Chain & Procurement director at Unicon. “This clearly underlines our role as a frontrunner for the construction industry in both Denmark and worldwide.

“We are very much looking forward to this collaboration with Volvo Trucks, which gives us unique opportunities to jointly develop the right complete truck and body electric solutions for our distribution.”

The record Danish order for electric trucks is remarkable, Volvo said, because heavy vehicles for the concrete industry are among the most difficult to electrify.

“With these agreements, we are taking important steps in expanding fossil-free distribution solutions to the concrete industry, where electrification of heavy vehicles has been a very difficult challenge due to the heavy loads and continuous mixing demands,” said Peter Ericson, managing director of Volvo Trucks in Denmark. ”We are pleased to have Unicon on board as a strategic partner and we expect a lot of learning and development as a result of the collaboration for the benefit of an entire industry.”