The first Kenworth electric trucks arrive in Quebec

Transport company Monteregi, which received the first electric trucks from Kenworth in Quebec, was seduced by the silent technology of these new life-sized toys.

“The two trucks, the terminal and the electrical connections are almost a million-dollar project,” explains Marlene Bourassa, fleet manager at Transport Bourassa in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.

“They have about 250 kilometers of autonomy. We take statistics for the Kenworth people to develop the technology,” she continues.

Made in the suburbs of Seattle

These two orange T680E trucks, fresh from the Kenworth plant in Reton, a suburb of Seattle, Washington State, crossed America from west to east before ending up at Transport Bourassa.

Each truck costs $412,000, but government subsidies of up to $300,000 can come to $112,000 per truck.

This type of vehicle is three times more expensive than the same gas-powered one, so subsidies from Quebec and Ottawa would be welcome.

Quiet driving

Zero gasoline, five times lower operating costs, regenerative braking… Marlin Bourassa is delighted with his new trucks.

Beside her, driver Eric Beaudoin dazzled with this new toy, with which he traveled the roads of the MRC du Haut-Richelieu.

As is often the case when driving an electric vehicle for the first time, the envelope of silence in the passenger compartment is striking.

There is also less mental fatigue at the end of the day, he notes.

“An electric truck is 85% quieter. When you enter the residential areas, it is amazing. It makes almost no noise,” he says.

“Driving is really different. It’s a bit exotic,” adds Eric Beaudouin.

At Kenworth Maska, which sold them, there were countless eager customers. “Demand is growing,” says its sales director Patrick-Olivier Tremblay.

Growing interest

At the Quebec Trucking Association (ACQ), its CEO, Marc Cadieux, confirmed that appetite for electric vehicles is growing.

“Increasingly, our members are asking us to explore with government subsidies and financing to match the value and costs of these devices,” he stressed.

Autonomy is still a problem, he said. For delivering goods nearby, trucks are practical, but traveling thousands of kilometers deep in America is another matter.

“It’s not tomorrow that we’ll have that to get fruit and vegetables in California or do it in the Midwest. It has very limited autonomy,” concludes Benoit Therrien, president of Truck Stop Quebec.

Earlier in the year, the first Volvo VNR electric truck was delivered to Group Morneau, the first in service in Quebec.

Bourassa Transport

• Foundation: 1956
• Head Office: Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
• Employees: 550 employees
• Trucks: 225
• Trailers: 750

Source: Transport Bourassa