Volta Trucks, a leading and disruptive commercial electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer and services provider, has appointed Prof. Dr.-Ing. Karl Viktor Schaller to its board of directors. His appointment will be confirmed at the company’s forthcoming annual general meeting.
Karl Viktor Schaller has held many executive and board positions within the automotive industry. Most recently, between 2014 and 2019, he was executive vice president of motorcycle engineering with BMW AG.
Before this, he was a member of the executive board and chief technology officer of MAN Truck and Bus, with responsibility for engineering and purchasing. In this role, he was responsible for product development, purchasing and planning.
Prior to this, Dr Schaller was director of the heavy trucks business unit at MAN, after having headed various other departments. In these other roles, he led the development of alternative drive systems. This included batteries, hybrids, natural gas and hydrogen in internal combustion and fuel cell applications, as well as advanced driver assistance systems and heavy trucks.
He is currently an honorary professor at the Technical University of Munich. He holds a diploma and a doctorate (Dr.-Ing., magna cum laude) in mechanical engineering from the Technical University of Munich, having been awarded an honorary professor in 2007. He is also a board member of Westport Fuel Systems Inc. in Canada.
Douglas Snyder, Volta Trucks chairman of the board of directors, said: “I am delighted to welcome Karl Viktor Schaller to the Board of Directors of Volta Trucks.
“His arrival coincides with significant, positive, engineering and manufacturing developments for the company, as we move into the production of the first full-electric Volta Zero prototype vehicles on our production line in Steyr, Austria.
“Within just a few months, Volta Trucks will start production of customer vehicles, transitioning from a start-up to a vehicle manufacturer. Karl Viktor brings a wealth of engineering and product development experience to the Board that will help us support the Executive team achieve its ambitious goals, and within industry-leading timescales.”
Karl Viktor Schaller, newly appointed board of director member at Volta Trucks, said: “I am excited to join the Board of Volta Trucks and support the company and the other Board members in our journey to a new and carbon-neutral urban delivery system.
“Having worked for Volta Trucks as a consultant to support the homologation process, I have seen the challenges and outstanding solutions to bring this all to a quality-based production process. In these areas, I am eager to support with 30 years of automotive experience.”
Along with its prototype electric trucks moving towards production level, Volta recently announced details of its first ‘Volta Trucks Hub’ in the UK. It will serve the Volta Zero electric vehicles that will operate on the streets of London from early 2023.
This is the second service and maintenance facility announced by Volta Trucks, after Bonneuil-sur-Marne in Paris. Further centres in other European cities will be announced in due course.
