DB Schenker orders nearly 1,500 Volta Zero electric trucks for urban deliveries

Electric vehicle manufacturer Volta Trucks has sealed an ‘intensive’ partnership with logistics giant DB Schenker, including a pre-order of nearly 1,500 full-electric Volta Zero vehicles for urban deliveries.

DB Schenker will use the first prototype of Volta Zero Trucks in real distribution conditions in spring and summer of 2022. The findings from these tests will be incorporated into the serial production of 1,470 vehicles built at Volta Trucks’ new contract manufacturing facility in Steyr, Austria. This is the most significant order for large zero-emission trucks in Europe to date, according to the two companies.

Clean freight deliveries

The Volta Zero is the world’s first purpose-built full-electric 16-ton vehicle designed specifically for inner-city logistics, reducing the environmental impact of freight deliveries in urban centres. Designed from the ground up with a pure-electric range of 150 to 200 km (95 – 125 miles), the Volta Zero will eliminate an estimated 1.2 million tons of CO2 by 2025. The prototype Volta Zero was launched in September 2020, and the first vehicles are expected to be operating with customers in mid-2022.

The full-electric 16-ton Volta Zero will be used in DB Schenker’s European terminals to transport goods from distribution hubs to the city centres and urban areas. This is where the vehicle’s innovative design, safety-oriented cab to protect vulnerable road users, and zero-emission drivetrain offer the greatest benefits. Together, DB Schenker and Volta Trucks will explore the potential uses of the technology to potentially expand the offering. The rollout will begin at 10 locations in 5 countries.

The partnership will also jointly develop specifications for the previously announced 12-ton Volta Zero variant, conducting site testing to accelerate vehicle deployment of vehicles, and train drivers.

Faster electrification

Cyrille Bonjean, Executive Vice President Land Transport at DB Schenker in Europe, said: “We have many challenges to overcome on the road to carbon neutrality. The large-scale partnership with Volta Trucks allows us to significantly increase the pace of electrification of our fleet and invest in greener transport solutions, brings us closer again to our goal of carbon neutral logistics.”

Essa Al-Saleh, Chief Executive Officer of Volta Trucks, added: “I am delighted to welcome DB Schenker as a Volta Trucks customer. Working with DB Schenker on Europe’s largest full-electric truck order demonstrates the confidence that major freight distributors have in our ability to deliver a world-class zero-emission vehicle on time and to the highest possible quality.”

Volta Trucks is a scale-up full-electric commercial vehicle manufacturer and services company. Its head office is in Stockholm, Sweden, with its engineering led from the UK, and forthcoming manufacturing facility in Steyr, Austria.