Podcast: Tesla sales are dropping, tariff situation, Nissan/Honda deal falls through, more - Related to falls, &, lynk, are, electric

Pet Valu deploys electric semi trucks so pets can breathe a bit easier

They may not purr like a well-tuned diesel, but Pet Valu has added two brand-new, whisper-quiet Volvo VNR Electric semi trucks to its growing logistics fleet as part of the organization’s ongoing effort to transform its supply chain into one that’s more efficient, and more sustainable.

Pet Valu is one of Canada’s leading specialty retailers, offering a wide variety of pet food, toys, and and other fur-and-feather friendly supplies to keep pets healthy and happy. Part of the business’s efforts to deliver on that happy/healthy promise is in reducing ground-level air pollution, and these new, zero-tailpipe emission electric semi trucks will help Pet Valu achieve that vision.

“At Pet Valu, we are committed to continuously improving how we serve devoted pet lovers and their pets,” explains Nico Weidel, chief supply chain officer, Pet Valu. “Each electric delivery truck represents an opportunity to avoid consuming over 25,000 liters of diesel fuel or over 62 tonnes of CO2 (emissions) per year. We’re excited to explore how these trucks perform and assess the potential for further electrification of our delivery fleet in the future.”.

Pet Valu spec’ed out its new Class 8 Volvo VNR Electric day cab trucks with the 565 kWh six-battery pack configuration, offering route drivers an operating range of up to 442 kilometers (about 275 miles) per charge. And, while Volvo’s VNRs are capable of ultra-fast charging, these trucks will power up overnight overnight at the enterprise’s Surrey distribution center an a newly installed 120 kW charger.

In addition to deploying the trucks, the Volvo Trucks team worked closely with Pet Valu to identify and secure additional funding opportunities to help offset the high up-front cost of the battery-electric semis, including federal (Canadian) and provincial incentive programs Clean BC – Go Electric and iMHZEV (incentives for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicles).

“We are excited to see Pet Valu taking the initiative in the Canadian pet supply industry by adopting Volvo’s VNR Electric trucks,” says Matthew Blackman, managing director for Canada, Volvo Trucks North America. “As they venture into sustainable transportation, this effort is expected to not only strengthen their supply chain but also help support a healthier planet, one ‘purr-fectly’ quiet kilometer at a time.”.

And, yes: we made the same joke. (I stand by it.).

Volvo VNR Electric semi deployed by 3PL Martin Brower; via McDonald’s.

Pet Valu joins a growing list of companies – and they’re already adding to the tally of tens of millions of all-electric, zero emission miles driven by Volvo people. By the time Volvo rolls out its next-generation VNL and FH electric semis later this year, they will represent firm’s third generation of Class 8 EVs, and will be backed by more than 100,000,000 miles of real-world data collected by thousands of trucks across dozens of companies.

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Room for one more? Chinese car brand Lynk & Co eyes Australian launch

Geely-owned Zeekr and Lynk & Co are merging, and vehicles from the latter could come to Australia as soon as 2026 – even if they’re not sold under the Lynk & Co brand.

“We are still under discussion about how can we introduce Lynk & Co product to this market. Shall we use the same brand? Or shall we bring a Lynk & Co brand, [and] with which models? This is still in discussion,” Zeekr International chief marketing officer Frank Li told CarExpert.

Mr Li’s remarks suggest Lynk & Co products could potentially wear Zeekr badging, which would arguably save some marketing investment.

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“The earliest time will be by the end of next year. That will be a very optimistic time, by the end of next year,” said Mr Li when asked when Lynk & Co vehicles will come here.

“We will keep continuously this discussion and make the decision as soon as possible, and then announce to the public how can we introduce Lynk & Co product to the market.

“The product itself is really amazing. I can see some potential product, like the Lynk & Co 08 which is a very competitive product in that segment, and also 09 as well. But the only thing is we find out the right way to introduce to this market.”.

Mr Li said the company is aiming to give journalists access to Lynk & Co vehicles in China to help determine which would be most attractive to our market.

Regardless of what they’re called, Lynk & Co vehicles would be distributed alongside Zeekr models.

“Zeekr is also a new brand and it doesn’t really make sense if we set up another national sales company only for Lynk & Co,” said Mr Li.

“So for the international market we will, from my perspective, I think we will merge more closely even then the Chinese market because [in the] domestic market we already have over one million users for Lynk & Co and over 400,000 users for Zeekr.

“So that is quite hard to utilise or merge with each other, but for overseas things can happen rapidly and from the portfolio side, for the model, Zeekr will focus on the pure EV but also to have some hybrid product.”.

Zeekr was launched in 2021 as an electric-only brand, while Lynk & Co was founded in 2016 and specialises in hybrids.

Despite this, Lynk & Co subsequently introduced EVs while Zeekr is revealing its first hybrids this year.

“From the product portfolio, Zeekr will not invest in small cars with hybrid. Zeekr will still focus on pure EVs with some upper large or larger cars in hybrid. This is the strategy from the product portfolio,” noted Mr Li.

“Lynk & Co is similar. So Lynk & Co is going to have some new product as well, and also Lynk & Co will focus on hybrid. But for some small cars, like Lynk & Co Z20, it’s pure EV.

“Lynk & Co is not going to invest in large cars in pure EV, that is the main portfolio difference.

“Also for the branding positioning, Lynk & Co is focused on the ‘high-tech premium’ and Zeekr is focused on the ‘tech luxury’. So we still have some room between Zeekr and Lynk & Co.”.

Mr Li conceded there’s still some overlap between the two brands.

For example, Zeekr is launching its first hybrid models this year, which will be a pair of large SUVs.

But the current Lynk & Co 09 is a large SUV related to the Volvo XC90 and offering mild-hybrid, hybrid or plug-in hybrid powertrains, while the recently revealed Lynk & Co 900 is a large plug-in hybrid SUV.

“Still there is some product in the same segment, but the branding DNA is different and the price positioning, definitely, we will have some room between each other,” noted Mr Li.

“But that is mainly for domestic market, frankly speaking, because for the international market we still have the time and the space to choose which ones to bring.”.

As to what Lynk & Co models could be offered here, Mr Li ruled out the small Z20 electric SUV as it would overlap with the Zeekr X.

Lynk & Co currently offers 11 different models in the Chinese market, and exports a much smaller range to markets like Europe.

This portfolio includes everything from small hatchbacks like the 02 all the way up to the large Z10 sedan, with powertrains including petrol engines with mild-hybrid, hybrid or plug-in hybrid systems, plus fully electric vehicles.

The 08 and 09 Mr Li referred to entered production in 2023 and 2021, respectively.

The former measures 4820mm long, 1915mm wide and 1685mm tall on a 2848mm wheelbase, which makes it around the size of a Kia Sorento. As with other Geely models like the Volvo XC40, it’s underpinned by the Compact Modular Architecture.

It’s powered by a [website] four-cylinder plug-in hybrid powertrain, with either [website] or [website] batteries sourced from CATL. Claimed WLTC electric driving range is between 102km and 205km.

The older, larger 09 shares its SPA underpinnings with the Volvo XC90 and measures 5042mm long, 1977mm wide and 1780mm tall on a 2984mm wheelbase.

Like the XC90, it’s offered with mild-hybrid or plug-in hybrid four-cylinder powertrains. In PHEV guise, it has upwards of 160km of electric range under the WLTC cycle thanks to a [website] ternary lithium battery.

This isn’t the first time a local Lynk & Co launch has been mooted.

Under its Smart Geely 2025 Strategy announced late in 2021, Geely said it aimed to bring Lynk & Co to various global markets including ours by 2025.

However, it’s been radio silence until now, despite Zeekr launching here late last year.

The Zeekr Intelligent Group aims to sell one million vehicles in 2026 across the Zeekr and Lynk & Co brands. Around half a million Zeekr and Lynk & Co vehicles were sold globally in 2024.

Australia is already teeming with not only Chinese brands, but also brands owned by Chinese giant Geely.

In addition to Zeekr, there are Volvo, Polestar, Smart and Lotus, with Geely’s namesake brand also setting up shop here this year.

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Podcast: Tesla sales are dropping, tariff situation, Nissan/Honda deal falls through, more

In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Tesla sale dropping, the tariff situation, the Nissan/Honda deal falling through, and more.

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As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends at around 5 [website] ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

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Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 [website] ET (or the video after 5 [website] ET):

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