The Mexican freight company Transportes Marva will soon be using its fleet of electric semi-trailers to ship cargo from Monterrey to Texas.
To achieve the feat, Marva is working with its subsidiary company BY Deléctrico, a distributor for heavy duty electric vehicles made by Chinese manufacturer BYD.
“We have a pilot project in the works for … the Monterrey-Nuevo Laredo route,” Deléctrico director Lorena Martínez said Thursday.
Speaking at the North America Mobility and Net Zero Summit in Monterrey, Martínez said the goal is to extend Marva’s extensive short-haul routes in Mexico.
“We are exploring the idea of a hybrid model to use our electric fleet for [routes of] 250-300 kilometers,” said Martínez, who is also the secretary of the Electric Mobility office of the National Trucking Association (Canacar).
Electric tractor-trailers reduce CO2 emissions, and their innovative design improves road safety, Martínez said.
Marva boasts one of the largest and most modern fleets in Mexico, and its car-carrying trailers serve the nation’s automotive industry. Subsidiary Deléctrico has 120 electric tractor-trailers while also providing all recharge infrastructure and related facilities.
The company has built charging stations across the country — including Mexico City, Puebla, Aguascalientes and Salamanca, Guanajuato — and expects to complete a new station in Nuevo Laredo in April after which it will begin the pilot project.
“This will allow us to make the round trip in electric [trucks] and upon crossing the border into Laredo, Texas, we will transfer [the cargo] in cross-dock zones,” Martínez said.
Although initially these transfers will have to rely on trucks with internal combustion engines, Martínez said she hopes that electric vehicles will become available in these dense logistical centers.
Already, Chinese auto manufacturer BYD has a vehicle that meets all specifications with regard to protocol as well as with the U.S. Department of Transportation, according to the newspaper El Economista.
By November 2024, Deléctrico had transported 130,000 tonnes of cargo and surpassed 1 million kilometers with its electric truck fleet, thus reducing CO2 emissions by 550 tons, according to trade magazine T21.
In addition to the Nuevo Laredo site, Marva is also building two new charging stations in Cuernavaca and Guadalajara this year.
With reports from El Economista and T21
