Scania and sennder establish JUNA, a joint venture to drive large-scale electric truck adoption and accelerate decarbonisation of European road logistics

Scania CV AB and sennder Technologies GmbH, a leading digital road freight forwarder, announce today that they have formed JUNA, a joint venture company to lead the way for electric solutions in road freight logistics across Europe. The joint venture, that just recently launched in Germany, aims to advance electric truck adoption to drive the transition towards a sustainable logistics industry, in line with ACEA/PIC joint statement that ”by 2040 all new commercial vehicles sold must be fossil free”.

JUNA, is a newly formed and Berlin-based German company (GmbH) introducing an innovative pay-per-use model for electric trucks. JUNA will effectively clear the way for a large-scale adoption of electric trucks that, on face value, are two to three times more expensive than the diesel equivalent. By offering access to guaranteed loads on sennder’s digital platform JUNA removes the obstacles of electric truck adoption for its customers. That includes the financial challenges associated with high upfront costs, residual value, and technology risk, and provides transport companies with 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, JUNA is leveraging the strength of both companies to accelerate the decarbonisation of European road freight logistics.

The innovative model offers the full package, including premium electric vehicles, repair, maintenance, insurance, digital and analytics services. In addition to usage-based fees and guaranteed utilisation, through data analysis, JUNA optimises electrification strategies and simulates routes for electric truck suitability. By removing the risks associated with electric truck adoption and streamlining operations, JUNA will play a pivotal role in reducing carbon emissions and advancing the transition to low-emission transport.

A pilot project has just recently been successfully launched. The first customer is using an electric truck supplied by JUNA charged with renewable energy and performing up to ten lanes per week just like its diesel predecessor. The truck is operating for a well-known FMCG shipper in the region of Stuttgart. With the potential to achieve an annual reduction of 93 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions for the first truck alone, the pilot’s scope will be expanded to include long-distance routes during 2024. The project relies on existing public charging infrastructure, and with per-kilometre costs comparable to current diesel charges.

David Nothacker, CEO of sennder, 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 e-trucks. Given that e-trucks cost two to three times more than diesel trucks and that 70 per cent 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 e-trucks.”

Gustaf Sundell, 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 electrified heavy transports. Scania is exploring new solutions to find ways of creating value for our customers now 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 two parties signed a joint venture agreement in May this year and have obtained necessary approval from the relevant competition authorities.

About sennder

Sender Technologies GmbH, a leading digital road freight forwarder in Europe, is offering shippers access to a connected fleet of thousands of trucks. In a traditional industry, sennder is moving fast and focuses on the digitalisation and automation of all road logistics processes. sennder deploys over 40,000 trucks across Europe, with access to more than 120,000 vehicles, and has a team of over 1,000 people. By leveraging its proprietary technology, sennder builds an ecosystem that leads the industry into the 21st century with a new degree of transparency, efficiency and flexibility. sennder is backed by some of Europe’s leading investors, including Baillie Gifford, Accel, Lakestar, HV Capital, Project A, Scania Growth Capital, and Poste Italiane. Additionally, sennder has joined forces with industry champions Scania and Siemens to assure innovation and state-of-the-art offerings.

About JUNA

JUNA is a joint venture between Scania CV AB and sennder Technologies GmbH that focuses on the development of innovative electric road logistics solutions in Europe. Founded in 2023 in Berlin, the company introduces electric truck solutions through a unique pay-per-use model, that enables access to electric trucks and guaranteed transport volumes by granting preferential access to loads on sennder’s digital platform. In doing so, JUNA effectively removes the main barriers to the introduction of electric trucks for transport companies to accelerate the decarbonisation of European road logistics.

The joint venture combines the expertise of both industry leaders: from the sennder team, JUNA is managed by Matteo Oberto as CEO and Thomas Ertel as CTO, and from the Scania team by Johan Kjellner as COO and André Söderstjerna as CFO.