Volvo Trucks offers electric versions of heavy-duty trucks
Volvo Trucks plans to offer hauliers in Europe a complete range of heavy-duty trucks with electric drivelines next year to be used for distribution, refuse, regional transport and urban construction operations.
The truck manufacturer is now testing all-electric versions of its heavy-duty trucks Volvo FH, Volvo FM and Volvo FMX. These trucks will have a gross combination weight of up to 44 tonnes. Depending on the battery configuration the range could be up to 300 km. Sales will begin next year and volume production will start in 2022.
"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," Roger Alm, President Volvo Trucks, said.
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 on December 3, 2020.
Volvo Trucks’ entire product range to be fossil-free by 2040
Over this decade, Volvo Trucks plans to introduce battery-electric and fuel cell electric trucks with a longer range for demanding and heavy long-haul operations. It aims to start selling electric trucks powered by hydrogen fuel cells in the second half of this decade. The goal is for entire product range to be fossil-free by 2040.
"To reduce the impact of transport on the climate, we need to make a swift transition from fossil fuels to alternatives such as electricity. But the conditions for making this shift, and consequently the pace of the transition, vary dramatically across different hauliers and markets, depending on many variables such as financial incentives, access to charging infrastructure and type of transport operations," Alm explained.
Therefore, Volvo Trucks expects most transport companies to switch to electric operations in stages with many of them having a mixed fleet of trucks powered by different fuels during a transition period.
Volvo Trucks to facilitate transition to electric vehicles for transport companies
"Our chassis are designed to be independent of the driveline used. Our customers can choose to buy several Volvo trucks of the same model, with the only difference being that some are electric and others are powered by gas or diesel. With regards to product characteristics, such as the driver's environment, reliability and safety, all our vehicles meet the same high standards. Drivers should feel familiar with their vehicles and be able to operate them safely and efficiently regardless of the fuel used," Alm said.
From Volvo Trucks' perspective, the shift to more sustainable transport should be made as smooth as possible for haulage operators so that they can begin to adjust. The solutions offered must be fossil-free and allow hauliers to achieve the necessary levels of profitability and productivity, the company stressed.
"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. The long-term security that we and our global network of dealers and service workshops provide our customers with will be more important than ever," Alm concluded.
