Wind turbine manufacturer Vestas has opted for electric pickup trucks by Ford to enter its service fleet in North America. The order of over 300 F-150 Lightning EVs will make up a large portion of the company’s vehicles there and includes access to charging.
In North America, Vestas’ service fleet comprises around 1,850 vehicles; with this recent order of 300+ Ford F-150 Lightnings, EVs will make up 20% of the company’s fleet.
Vestas US technicians help maintain and operate nearly 15,000 turbines, so Vestas. Moreover, the location of wind parks across the US demands a vehicle that can carry equipment and tools while navigating off-road terrain. Therefore, introducing an EV pickup truck, such as the Ford F-150 Lightning, is “ideal for our operations, combining utility, range, and sustainability,” writes Vestas. The company also lists the F-150 Pro Power Onboard, a mobile energy source that powers devices and tools, as the selection criteria.
The Deal with Ford Pro, the commercial vehicle outlet of the US carmaker, includes access to Ford Pro Chargers. Vestas emphasises it was leveraging the interoperability of the company’s charging hardware that can be used with the F-150 Lightnings and across various multi-make vehicles. Ford launched the open standard solution in 2021 to provide fleet owners with software and commercial hardware to support charging and energy management. In addition, Ford Pro includes over 70,000 public charging ports, with over 3,200 DC fast-charging stations on its nationwide Blue Oval Charging Network.
Vestas targets becoming a carbon-neutral company by 2030 without using carbon offsets. As reported, the strategy includes transitioning all company vehicles to electric by 2025. Pilots have been underway since 2020 in many markets, including China and Japan. At the same time, Vestas also charged Enel X with providing EV infrastructure in the top 15 markets in Europe and the Americas.
Michael Kraft, Vestas’ Fleet Manager in North America, added the company was on an ambitious sustainability journey and needed to collaborate with like-minded leaders across the various sectors of the supply chain. “With Ford being one of those leaders here in the US, incorporating the F-150 Lightnings into our service fleet was a good fit for us.”
The company, with headquarters in Denmark, says it has installed more than 122 GW of wind turbines in 82 countries in recent years, with more than 108 GW currently in operation. Vestas employs over 25,500 people globally.
Keyword: Vestas drives fleet electrification with Ford Pro in North America