JoyRide is set to become the first fleet to operate Antwerp, Belgium-based Windrose’s R700 Class 8 battery-electric tractors. (JoyRide Logistics)
Transitioning away from a wholly diesel fleet is not easy, particularly with refueling infrastructure buildout failing to keep pace with the ambitions of both lawmakers and executives.
It requires partnerships.
Convincing shippers to support those ambitions with cold, hard cash in the form of rates that reflect the required investment in rolling stock and infrastructure is doubly difficult though, as executives warned at the 2025 Advanced Clean Transportation Expo recently.
JoyRide Logistics’ zero-emission ambitions are imposing given such hurdles.
“We want to be the first zero-emissions regional-haul fleet,” Vice President of Business Development Kemal Balihodzic told Transport Topics, adding that he had not seen anyone else do this.
“JoyRide works differently to 90% of carriers out there. JoyRide is a tech-enabled regional carrier,” said Balihodzic, the company’s vice president of business development. (JoyRide Logistics)
As a first step, JoyRide is set to become the first fleet to operate Antwerp, Belgium-based Windrose’s R700 Class 8 battery-electric tractors.
Chandler, Ariz.-headquartered JoyRide also will take part in the North American Council for Freight Efficiency’s Run on Less — Messy Middle program in September with those Windrose tractors.
How JoyRide achieves the next steps toward its zero-emission goal will be key, and to do so, the carrier expects to meld the ambitions of shippers and the fleet’s own.
Because as Balihodzic told TT: “Everybody speaks about doing zero emissions, but nobody wants to pay for it.”
The carrier has a bid in with a shipper, therefore, that would require the purchase of 128 zero-emission tractors if the deal is sealed, the executive said.
Until now, JoyRide operated no zero-emission tractors. The carrier currently operates conventional tractors including Freightliner Cascadias, Kenworth T680s and VNL760s from Volvo Trucks North America.
JoyRide provides power-only or drop trailer services to dry van, refrigerated and expedited customers.
The carrier has terminals in California, New Mexico, Nevada and Arizona. JoyRide has more than 250 trucks and over 800 trailers. It also owns a small brokerage, a marketing company and an information technology business.
Until now, JoyRide operated no zero-emission tractors. The carrier currently operates conventional tractors including Freightliner Cascadias, Kenworth T680s and VNL760s from Volvo Trucks North America. (JoyRide Logistics)
Still, the company is currently electrifying two yards and working with several truck makers. Balihodzic said Joyride aims to test a large proportion of the available zero-emission trucks between July and September 2025.
The zero-emission ambitions are part of a wider expansion plan, said Balihodzic, even in what is a fraught freight environment at the moment.
“We’re going to see a lot of companies go under. There’s going to be brokerages go under. Shippers are going to start their own fleets,” he said.
Robert Brown of Bot Auto breaks down the state of autonomous trucking today, and where it’s headed. Tune in above or by going to RoadSigns.ttnews.com.
But over the next five years, JoyRide intends to increase the size of its diesel fleet to 400 trucks, the executive said, and expand to three or four more states. “We’re definitely planning to expand,” he said.
“It has nothing to do with the freight market. It’s because our customers want us to expand. We’ve held back for a couple of years. Now it’s the time to move on,” said Balihodzic. “JoyRide works differently to 90% of carriers out there. JoyRide is a tech-enabled regional carrier.”
The company uses proprietary predictive analytics formulated by its in-house IT team.
JoyRide also plans to expand its freight-forwarding operations, part of which will involve an on-the-ground presence in the United Arab Emirates, he said. It already has five staff in Dubai.
Those ambitions encapsulate a vision the company had from its start, noted Balihodzic.
JoyRide founder Adis Danan’s wife suggested the company’s name.
“We wanted something that captured both movement and a sense of purpose. For us, trucking isn’t just about transporting freight — it’s about creating opportunities and empowering people along the journey,” he said in an email. “JoyRide represents more than logistics — it’s the ride we take together toward impact, innovation and family.”
