DALLAS — Pride Group Enterprises has reserved 150 Tesla Electric Semis with the option to increase to 500 trucks, the company announced Nov. 4. Sam Johal, CEO of Pride Group Enterprises, said the company has placed a deposit to secure the initial units and build slots.
Headquartered in Texas, Pride Group Enterprises is a privately held, diversified company with 12 locations in the U.S. and Canada. The company and its affiliates are members of NationaLease, a full-service truck leasing organization.
“With support from one of our long-term financial partners, Hitachi Capital, we are very excited to bring this innovative product to our strong customer base, helping forge a new path in clean transportation. We believe that electrification is the way of the future as we work together across multiple industries to reduce our carbon footprint,” Johal said. “As well, we have the option to increase our order as we gauge customer acceptance of this new technology.”
The allocation of units will be determined by Pride, with special consideration for regions with the “most welcoming electric commercial vehicle environment,” such as California, a company statement said.
“Pride Group Enterprises’ vision is to invest in facilities that will support charging, full-service maintenance and a consistent supply of electric trucks on North American highways,” Johal said. “We have first-hand knowledge of the transportation industry across multiple verticals and we (PGE) strongly believe that electric truck technology will overcome many challenges facing traditional diesel technology such as the related maintenance and associated downtime.”
In preparation for the arrival of the all-electric Class 8 trucks, the company is investing in the necessary infrastructure for parking, charging and maintenance at all of its locations.
“With the addition of electric trucks to our portfolio of products, our service offering to our customers continues to evolve. Our reservation with Tesla is the first of many and we continue to work with all OEM partners and have more exciting projects in the works,” said Aman Johal, Pride Group Enterprises’ vice president of operations.
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