Volvo begins electric truck sales

Volvo is rolling out its new electric truck range in Europe to meet an “increasing demand” for sustainable transport in city environments.

Volvo FL and FE electric trucks have been developed for distribution, refuse handling and other urban transport applications.

Sales will start in Sweden, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, France and the Netherlands.

The start of serial production is planned for March 2020. The Volvo FL Electric has a gross vehicle weight capacity of 16 tonnes, while the FE Electric is 27 tonnes.

Volvo Trucks electromobility product line vice president Jonas Odermalm says noise and emission requirements of global urbanisation is seeing “increasing urgency” for electric trucks.

“With the Volvo FL Electric and Volvo FE Electric we are able to meet both the strong environmental demands as well as the high commercial requirements of our customers,” he says.

One challenge is to maximise the payload at the same time as optimising the driving range.

“Volvo Trucks’ solutions will be based on individual business needs that consider a number of parameters, such as driving cycles, load capacity and route analysis, to use the battery capacity in the most efficient way possible,” Odermalm says.

The trucks were developed in close collaboration with customers operating in Gothenburg, Sweden.

“While customer feedback has been positive, we do recognize that charging infrastructure is still under development in most cities and we are working alongside both public and private partners to agree on a long-term strategy for the expansion of charging infrastructure.

“But it’s clear that the pace of development of charging infrastructure needs to increase,” he says.

“Electric vehicles, charged with electricity from renewable sources, are indeed a powerful step towards more sustainable city distribution.

“However, there will not be one singular energy source that addresses climate change and all other environmental issues.

“Different types of transport require different types of driveline solutions,” Odermalm says.