Volvo Trucks will be offering a range of all-electric versions of Volvo’s heavy-duty trucks for European hauliers from 2021. Volvo Trucks’ massive drive towards electrification marks a major step forwards on the road to fossil-free transport.
Volvo Trucks are running tests of the electric heavy-duty Volvo FH, Volvo FM and Volvo FMX trucks, which will be used for regional transport and urban construction operations in Europe. These trucks will have a gross combination weight of up to 44 tonnes. Depending on the battery configuration the range could be up to 186 miles (300km).
Orders for the trucks will start in 2021 with volume production starting in 2022. With such a wide range of trucks available Volvo will offer battery-electric trucks in Europe for distribution, refuse, regional transport and urban construction operations.
Roger Alm, President Volvo Trucks, said: “By rapidly increasing the number of heavy-duty electric trucks, we want to help our customers and transport buyers to achieve their ambitious sustainability goals. We’re determined to continue driving our industry towards a sustainable future.”
Volvo Trucks started manufacturing the Volvo FL Electric and Volvo FE Electric in 2019. These are electric trucks intended for city distribution and refuse operations, primarily in Europe. In North America, sales of the Volvo VNR Electric, a truck for regional transport, will start in December 2020. Volvo Trucks’ aim for its entire product range to be fossil-free by 2040.
Volvo Trucks believe that the conditions for making this shift to zero-emission vehicles will vary dramatically across different hauliers and markets. Variables such as financial incentives, access to charging infrastructure and type of transport operations will all play a part. As a consequence, transport companies will change over to electric operation in stages. In practice, many will have mixed fleets powered by different fuels during the transition period.
Roger Alm, President Volvo Trucks, said: “To reduce the impact of transport on the climate, we need to make a swift transition from fossil fuels to alternatives such as electricity. Our primary task is to ease the transition to electrified vehicles. We’re doing this by offering holistic solutions that include route planning, correctly specified vehicles, charging equipment, financing and services.”
