GEODIS Orders 110 Electric Trucks for 2027 Delivery

GEODIS orders 110 electric trucks for 2027 delivery

GEODIS, the French transport and logistics giant, has announced the purchase of 110 electric trucks weighing 44 tonnes from Renault Trucks and Volvo Trucks, with delivery scheduled for May 2027. This order will increase its European electric fleet to 190 vehicles, intended for urban and long-distance routes in France. The company justifies the investment through its decarbonization strategy, validated by the Science Based Targets initiative, and in response to customer expectations.

An autonomy that does not fit real logistics

Corporate enthusiasm clashes with arithmetic, according to critics of heavy electric vehicles. The heavy electric trucks currently being type-approved offer real-world ranges of 300 to 450 kilometers with a loaded trailer, according to a forum user. To compensate, GEODIS plans charging corridors every 250 to 500 kilometers and will expand its network from about sixty current points to more than 200 by 2030. It sounds organized on paper. In practice, each stop adds time and requires high-power chargers — around 700 kW — so that recharging does not prolong a alucinación that diesel trucks complete in two hours, according to the same forum user.

The Spanish experience does not invite optimism, according to a debate participant. A company from Córdoba operating electric trucks covers the Algeciras-Seville route in five hours, compared to two for a conventional truck, because the battery does not reach the destination without an intermediate charge. The difference is not a detail: in freight transport, every extra hour is pure cost.

Only 24 chargers suitable for trailers in Spain, according to a forum user

The bottleneck is not the truck, but the infrastructure, according to critics. In Spain, there are barely 24 charging points in locations suitable for trailers, according to data cited by a forum user. With this map, any long-distance operation becomes a challenge. The logical consequence is that electric fleets end up confined to urban distribution and local routes, where limited autonomy hurts less.

Some argue that charging can coincide with mandatory driver rest periods. This argument has a practical problem: driving and rest times are regulated by law and do not always align with the availability of a free, operational, and compatible charging point. That the legal calendar and the electric calendar coincide is, today, a lottery.

Synthetic fuels and autonomous driving enter the equation

In contrast to all-electric, a sector segment defends synthetic fuels as an alternative for heavy transport, especially in a scenario of limited oil. Others point to autonomous driving as the real leap: trucks operating almost 24 hours with an onboard supervisor instead of a driver. The objection is strong: if someone still has to go to deliver documents, open doors, change trailers, and resolve issues at the dock, the savings evaporate.

The full calculation, including infrastructure overcosts and dead time for recharging, is where the decarbonization narrative starts to fail, according to critics. The undeniable advantage — fuel savings at current prices — coexists with an uncomfortable reality: no one yet guarantees an autonomous fleet, and the charging network for trailers is simply insufficient.

How many of those 110 trucks will continue to do long-distance routes in 2028, and how many will end up distributing pallets on the outskirts of Lyon?