Three battery-electric Volvo VNR Electric trucks will be delivered in 2026 to City Harvest as part of the Bronx Is Breathing initiative, a project focused on reducing freight-related emissions and noise in the South Bronx, according to Volvo Trucks North America. The deployment is supported by a $10 million award from the New York Clean Transportation Prizes program and is designed to demonstrate how electric trucks can operate in dense, high-traffic urban freight corridors.
City Harvest plans to use the trucks for food rescue and delivery operations across all five New York City boroughs. Each vehicle will be equipped with a battery-electric transport refrigeration unit, allowing zero tailpipe emissions during both driving and refrigeration. Initial charging will take place at a new installation at the Fulton Fish Market Cooperative within the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center. In the longer term, charging is expected to shift to a freight-focused public charging hub being developed by MN8 Energy at Hunts Point, which is planned to include 32 DC fast chargers, stalls for heavy-duty Class 8 trucks, and 10 Level 2 chargers when it becomes operational in 2029.
Volvo Trucks said the VNR Electric is designed for urban and regional routes where vehicles operate near residential neighborhoods, schools, and businesses. The truck’s zero tailpipe emissions and quieter operation are intended to improve local air quality and reduce noise during early-morning and overnight deliveries, making it suitable for fleets operating in densely populated areas.
The Bronx Is Breathing initiative is intended to serve as a scalable model for commercial vehicle electrification at the Hunts Point peninsula, which is home to the nation’s largest wholesale food hub and sees more than 15,000 truck trips on a typical workday. In addition to City Harvest’s trucks, the project includes a broader eight-vehicle Volvo Group deployment supporting food distribution, waste operations, and local deliveries.
All Volvo VNR Electric trucks deployed through the project will be supported by Milea Truck Sales and Leasing, the first East Coast dealership to earn Volvo Trucks Certified EV Dealership status. The Bronx-based dealership has invested in EV service bays, charging infrastructure, parts inventory, and technician training to support fleet uptime as operators transition to battery-electric trucks.
