JUNA: New joint venture aims to increase BEV adoption by removing the obstacles to ownership

• Scania CV AB and sennder Technologies GmbH have created a joint venture company designed to grow the adoption of electric trucks in Europe
• By using an innovative pay-per-use model, customers can benefit from all the advantages of using electric vehicles without encountering any of the ownership risks
• With Scania and sennder combining their expertise, the ambition is to help decarbonise European road freight logistics quicker

Södertälje, Sweden, 08 November 2023: Scania CV AB and sennder Technologies GmbH have formed a joint venture company called JUNA, designed to drive adoption of electric vehicles in road freight logistics across Europe.

The new Berlin-based company will introduce an innovative pay-per-use model for electric trucks. The pricing includes access to Scania electric vehicles, repair, maintenance, insurance, digital and analytics services.

In addition, JUNA will optimise electrification strategies and simulate routes to determine suitability. By doing so, it will remove some of the risks associated with electric truck adoption and streamlining operations.

Gustaf Sundell, Executive Vice President and Head of Ventures and New Business at Scania, says: “JUNA is the result of a collaboration between two companies with complementary expertise in the areas of electric vehicles and digital logistics, which will accelerate the transition to electric transportation.

“Scania is exploring new solutions to find ways of creating value for our customers, today and in the future. And we are proud to see this project with sennder come to life. We believe it will play an important role in driving the shift to a sustainable transport system.”

The ambition is that JUNA will clear the way for large-scale adoption of electric vehicles by removing the obstacles currently hindering the industry. These include high upfront costs, residual value, and technology risk. And in return, provide commercial predictability through guaranteed incomes.

By combining Scania’s premium electric trucks and tailored services with sennder’s advanced technology for connecting small and medium carriers with big name shippers and access to guaranteed loads, JUNA is leveraging the strength of both companies to accelerate the decarbonisation of European road freight logistics.

David Nothacker, CEO of sennder Technologies GmbH, says: “This is a pivotal moment for our industry, and we are excited to be partnering with Scania to create a joint venture that will propel the widespread adoption of electric trucks.

“Given that they cost two to three times more than diesel trucks and that 70% of all trucks in Europe are owned by small carriers with fewer than 10 trucks, the combination of JUNA’s pay-per-use offering and sennder’s capacity utilisation will effectively remove the barriers to adopting electric trucks.”

A pilot project has recently been launched. The first customer, using an electric truck supplied by JUNA, is seeing performance results equivalent to its diesel counterparts.

The truck is operating for a well-known FMCG company in Stuttgart and has the potential to achieve an annual reduction of 93 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions.

The pilot’s scope will be expanded to include long-distance routes during 2024. The project relies on existing public charging infrastructure, and with a with per-kilometre costs comparable to current diesel charges.