British supermarket chain Asda, owned by Walmart, has taken delivery of 202 Volvo FH LNG tractor units as the firm looks to slash emissions.
According to Volvo Trucks UK & Ireland, this move could be the single largest order ever placed in the UK for heavy trucks running on renewable fuels.
Furthermore, the supermarket has ambitions to transition its core fleet of 1,000 tractor units from diesel to gas by 2024.
The decision comes after in-house trials showed running on biomethane reduced CO2 emissions by more than 80 percent, Volvo said in a statement.
The new delivery also sees Volvo’s share of Asda’s fleet more than double in size to one third.
The bulk of the new trucks will remain in service until January 2026 – 12 months longer than Asda’s typical replacement cycle for diesel vehicles, according to Volvo.
Sean Clifton, Senior Manager – National Fleets, says: “At Asda we like to think big, start small and scale fast – and that’s precisely what we’ve accomplished with this move to biomethane.”
He added that the firm started with a pair of Volvo FH LNG trial vehicles at its Avonmouth depot in December 2018 with a further 49 joining between December 2019 and May 2020.