Fresno, California, Nov. 16, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Velocity EV, the exclusive U.S. distributor of RIZON battery-electric trucks, has added California Truck Centers, one of the state’s largest and family-owned commercial truck dealerships, to its authorized dealer network. California Truck Centers is now certified to sell and service the Class 4-5 zero-emissions cabover trucks – engineered by Daimler Truck – at six of its eight California locations in Fresno, Oakland, Sacramento, Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo, and Keyes.
“The need for battery-electric Class 4 and 5 trucks is increasing across California as fleets eye quickly approaching regulatory deadlines and their customers’ increasing interest in zero-emission urban delivery,” said Alex Voets, general manager, Velocity EV. “With their extensive customer service reputation in the commercial truck industry, California Truck Centers’ sales and service teams are well-skilled in helping customers navigate the transition to battery-electric trucks. Customers can contact a California Truck Centers dealership to test drive and experience the advanced technology and safety features of these innovative electric trucks.”
California Truck Centers has been owned and operated by the Howard family in Fresno since 1930. For more than nine decades, the dealer group has served the trucking industry in Central and Northern California with new and used light- to heavy-duty conventional and vocational truck sales, adding electric vehicles to its inventory in 2021. With more than 800 employees who specialize in OEM truck parts, body shop service and repair, in-house financing, and rentals and leasing, California Truck Centers earned Certified Elite Support status through Daimler Truck. The dealership network has trained a team of 95 vehicle technicians on how to perform safe and efficient service on RIZON trucks, as well as equipped its dealerships with on-site diagnostic equipment, RIZON parts inventory, and charging infrastructure at six dealer locations.
“We are excited to introduce RIZON’s medium-duty electric trucks to our commercial truck lineup, expanding our zero-emission offerings to include Class 4 to Class 8 electric trucks for Northern and Central California,” said Doug Howard, president, California Truck Centers. “The RIZON Class 4 and 5 trucks offer electric solutions at very affordable prices. At California Truck Centers, we take pride in leading the way in sustainability by providing zero-emission solutions and support for our customers.”
RIZON trucks purchased in California through California Truck Centers are eligible for a base voucher of $60,000 per vehicle as part of the state’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP). The zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) designation was approved in September by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), enabling fleet operators to further reduce their total cost of ownership of RIZON trucks with HVIP credit. The CARB certification designates all four RIZON models, which include the e16M, e16L, e18M, and e18L, as compliant under the Advanced Clean Fleets rule that mandates 50% of overall state, local and municipal vehicle purchases be zero-emissions starting January 1, 2024