AUSTRALIA | Electric trucks have hit the road to deliver millions of litres of Asahi Beverages’ beers and other drinks across Perth each year.
The five new Volvo vehicles will travel across the city and suburbs, decked out in eye-catching branding featuring Victoria Bitter, Carlton Dry, and Balter.
Owned and operated by long-term Asahi partner Toll Group, these trucks are part of their joint commitment to achieving positive commercial outcomes and a more sustainable delivery network in Western Australia.
The EVs are replacing diesel-powered delivery trucks and are expected to deliver more than 10 million litres of beverages a year. This is expected to reduce Asahi’s greenhouse gas emissions by up to 140 tonnes annually, the equivalent of taking more than 50 average family cars off the road each year.
Using electric trucks to transport our beer in Perth marks an important milestone in Asahi’s efforts to reduce emissions.
“Thanks to our partnership with Toll, these electric trucks will safely deliver our beer just like a regular diesel truck. This investment makes commercial sense for our business and is a big step towards creating sustainable and reliable supply chains with our customers and partners in Perth," said Asahi Beverages CEO Amanda Sellers.
The new Volvo FE electric rigid trucks have a range of 270km on a single charge, helping ensure efficient and reliable performance.
“This milestone builds on our longstanding partnership with Asahi and represents the next step in our shared decarbonisation journey," said Toll Group President, Retail and Consumer Nick Vrckovski.
"By deploying electric trucks across Perth’s high-volume metro network, we’re showing how lower-emissions transport can be achieved at scale, without compromising service reliability, safety or customer needs.”
Expected to complete more than 36,000 deliveries to pubs and bottle shops across Perth each year, the electric vehicles offer a quieter and lower-emission transport solution.
This fleet represents Toll’s largest deployment of electric trucks for beverage distribution at a single location in Australia. It also forms part of their AUD 67 million investment in battery-electric heavy vehicles and charging infrastructure, co-funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
As part of this co-investment with Toll Group, the initiative includes three dedicated dual-port 60 kW DC charging stations at Asahi’s distribution centre at Forrestfield.
Asahi recently announced that 100 percent of the electricity used at its Australian sites is now sourced from or matched with renewable energy.
Beyond environmental benefits, the electric heavy vehicles are equipped with advanced safety systems and technology designed to protect drivers, enhance service delivery performance, and support community safety.
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