Midwestern dealer General Truck Sales has completed the training and facility upgrades required to obtain electric vehicle (EV) certifications from Volvo Trucks North America at its Toledo, Ohio, and Pendleton, Indiana locations, as well as a Mack Trucks EV certification at the Toledo dealership. Both Volvo Trucks North America and Mack Trucks are subsidiaries of the Volvo Group.
“Our dealer partner General Truck Sales recognizes the need to invest in electrification,” said Jonathan Randall, president of Mack Trucks North America. “The investment in this General Truck Sales site will help our customers and their customers meet sustainability goals while also reducing their carbon footprint.”
To earn the certifications, General Truck Sales had to meet safety, infrastructure, tooling, charging, and training requirements, according to press releases from the truck makers. Two service bays at both the Toledo and Pendleton dealerships are designated for EVs, and two technicians at each location are certified to service battery-electric trucks. The four-time Volvo Trucks Dealer of the Year also had to train its sales teams to consult with prospective EV buyers. General Truck Sales has also installed a 50kWh electric vehicle charger with multiple outlets at both dealerships.
See also: For those skeptical of EVs, Volvo offers ‘electromobility ecosystem’
“We see the freight transportation industry’s acceleration towards alternative fuel and zero-emissions vehicles and are excited to help Midwestern fleets as they move towards the future of heavy-duty transport,” said General Truck Sales President Steve Basset, who added, “our two newest facilities in Pendleton and Toledo were actually designed to support a future expansion into electric vehicles. Our more progressive customers see the emerging need and value of reducing their carbon footprint and are getting increased requests from the shippers they work for to make the transition to zero-tailpipe emission battery-electric trucks.”
General Truck Sales’ Pendleton dealership is the first official Volvo Trucks Certified EV Dealer in Indiana, and its Toledo dealership is now the second in Ohio. The Toledo dealership is also the first Mack-Certified EV Dealer in the state.
“We are excited to start the new year adding another new state into our expanding network of certified EV dealerships, as well as to see the trend continue of our dealer partners certifying more than one location at a time,” said Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks North America. “Our goal of developing a widespread electromobility ecosystem of support for our battery-electric trucks is happening at an incredible rate. We now have more than 20 Volvo Trucks Certified EV Dealerships in 11 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces.”
