Volvo Trucks Australia begins sales of electric range

Volvo Trucks Australia is beginning the first customer sales of its all-electric medium duty truck range. 

The new Volvo FL and FE Electric medium duty range provides a zero emissions option in GVM applications ranging from 16,000 to 26,000kg. 

The first trial units of the Volvo FL Electric arrived in Australia during 2021 and were put to the test in urban distribution roles.

“When we delivered our first two electric trucks to customers for trials last year, we said this that this was just the start of our Australian electro-mobility journey,” says Paul Illmer, emerging technology vice president at Volvo group Australia. 

“That journey is now gathering pace as we offer a viable, safe and productive range of zero emissions medium duty trucks for the first time locally.

“Customer demand for electric transport options is fast becoming a tsunami, and with the arrival of our medium duty electric range we are now well placed to ride that wave of demand,” Illmer says. 

“The connected eco-system around our electric offering will give customers peace of mind when it comes to making the leap to electric.

“And our proprietary Electric Range Simulation tool will ensure that the trucks we deliver are capable of the carry out the tasks they are being asked to carry out regardless of weight, weather or traffic conditions.” 

“Customer and driver feedback on our first two vehicles in service has been fantastic to date.

“And we look forward to seeing many more Volvo Electric vehicles quietly plying our urban roads over the next 12 months as we expand our Electric range even further,” Illmer says. 

All Volvo Electric trucks are sold with a Gold Service agreement and prospective customers can choose between an outright vehicle purchase or an operating lease. 

Wheelbases range from 3800mm to 5000mm for the FL as a 4×2 only, while the FE offers wheelbases from 3900mm to 6100mm in both 4×2 and 6×2 tag axle guise.

Battery packs are also able to be configured to suit varying applications with a choice of three or four battery packs on offer. With four batteries on board both the FL and FE Electric offer 265kWh capacity, while the 3-battery option offers 200kWh.

The FL Electric utilises a single motor driveline that provides power to the ground via a 2-speed automated transmission and develops 135kW of continuous power with 425Nm of torque available from standstill. 

The FE Electric, whilst sharing the same battery configuration as the lighter capacity FL utilises a 225-kW/850Nm dual-motor driveline and is also backed by a 2-speed automated transmission. Operational range across the medium duty range is up to 300 kilometres depending on battery configuration and application. 

A factory fitted electric PTO unit is also an option across the entire medium duty electric range. 

Charge times for both vehicles vary from 9 hours (AC) to 2 hours (DC) via a Type 2 or CCS2 charge port. 

Both models are equipped with a full suite of active safety features.

New Zealand rollout 

Volvo Trucks NZ is also getting closer to delivering the fully electric model to customers following a validation programme on local roads. 

Motor Trucks Distributor NZ (MTD), which distributes Volvo Trucks to the New Zealand market, expects the 16-tonne FL Electric to be an ideal solution for zero emission metropolitan deliveries. 

MTD general manager Clive Jones says New Zealand customers could expect to take the first orders of the battery electric truck by late this year or early 2023.