News

Volvo has achieved a significant breakthrough deal with supermarket Asda that could pave the way for a larger order next year. Although the Leeds-based supermarket has been operating around 70 Volvo tractors from its Wakefield DC for some time, the majority of its fleet is made up of Scania vehicles.

However, the supermarket says that Volvo has made "huge steps forward" on the fuel consumption of its vehicles over the past three years, which has lead to it ordering another 55 Euro-5 FM13  tractors. These will be operated by logistics supplier NFT Distribution across its Crick and Alfreton depots.

John Rogerson, network fleet contracts manager at Asda, says: "Volvo released its Euro-5 tractor unit 12 months ago and we have been running those from Wakefield for the past 12 months. They have proved far better than the Euro-4 Scanias on mpg."

Rogerson says that the Volvos have also gained wider acceptance among its drivers: "Although we have had Volvos in Wakefield for some time, they have never been generally accepted across the network.

"But the I-Shift has made a big difference and the drivers really like the Volvos now - there's fewer objections when we put them into Scania [dominated] sites."

Although the order for the 55 FM13 4x2s is relatively small, Rogerson says that they will be used as a benchmark to inform the  decision on a larger order of 211 trucks next year.

The trucks have been supplied by Birstall-based Crossroads Truck & Bus and will enter into service on 1 July.

Asda has also just completed the purchase of 100 new curtain-sided triaxle and 73 tail-lift-equipped box trailers all supplied by Cartwright Group. It is also currently finalising a deal to buy a large number of fridge trailers later this year, says Rogerson.