Volvo pushes installation, marketing efforts to vendors for electrification

Volvo Group’s subsidiaries are providing installation and marketing support to vendors looking to sell the OEM’s electrified equipment in a move that stands to bolster its captive finance operations.  

The equipment manufacturer works with vendors to ensure electrified equipment is installed and marketed properly. For instance, Volvo Penta, the company’s engine manufacturer, helps other manufacturers that use their engines, and vendors that sell equipment with their engines, Forrest Hooper, industrial regional sales manager at Volvo Penta of the Americas, told Equipment Finance News.  

Volvo Financial Services, Volvo Group’s captive finance arm, typically finances the equipment engine, the most expensive and usually the largest component, Hooper said. 

Volvo Penta also manufactures marine and industrial engines for Volvo and other OEMs, such as TICO, RTX, and Gradall. Volvo Penta’s dealer development team works with dealer networks on various Volvo Penta engine types, including electric, Hooper said.  

“It’s not just that we help them get it installed, we also work with them to market the products, so there’s marketing, support, training and parts,” he said. Customers expect to receive support from the vendor for their purchased vehicle, similar to when shopping in the commercial truck market with Ford, Chevrolet, and Dodge, Hooper added. 

Volvo Construction Equipment, meanwhile, provides education on how to properly operate and charge electric equipment, Lars Arnold, product manager for utility products, told EFN. OEMs, vendors and customers must have a strong relationship to prepare for the upcoming shift to electric within the equipment industry, he said.  

The complete replacement of non-electric equipment remains at least seven years away, Arnold said.  

“They will still be wanting diesel machines for another few years, but they’ve started preparing themselves for the future when they maybe go electric.”