Volta provides electric trucks for testing in the USA
Volta Trucks will unveil its Volta Zero electric truck at the US ACT Expo trade show in early May this year. US customers are expected to receive some examples of the Volta Zero in Classes 6 and 7 for fleet testing by the end of 2023, followed soon after by the market launch.
The Swedish electric truck company first presented its US market entry in May last year. Volta says that the production of the vehicles with US specifications will start soon after the completion of fleet tests. These will be an adapted version of the 16-tonners that were developed for Europe, which will be offered in the USA in two versions with cooled and uncooled batteries. The vehicle is classified in US Class 7 (up to 14,969 kilograms), which means a 15-tonne truck.
A prototype of the Class 7 Volta Zero will be on display at its US debut at the ACT Expo in Anaheim, California (1-4 May 2023). Volta Trucks says that its executives and product experts will be on hand to answer questions about the all-electric truck, the truck-as-a-service subscription model and vehicle charging options.
Late this year, the Swedish company will launch a US-based Driving Experience Program for fleet operators. This should enable fleet operators to evaluate a pilot fleet of Volta Zero trucks in real distribution environments. In this way, fleet operators should get an idea of how they could integrate electric delivery trucks into their operations.
After the fleet tests, which are to take place with as yet unnamed logistics companies on the US West Coast, production of the series vehicles is expected to start in 2024. Volta Trucks says that its 16-tonne Class 6 and 7 Volta Zero models will be followed by Class 5 and 6 trucks in 2026, equivalent to Europe’s 7.5- and 12-tonne vehicles. Just last month, Volta Trucks received European Type Approval (ECWVTA) for its 16-tonne Volta Zero electric truck.
The US version (as well as the EU model) relies on numerous components from American production: the highly integrated E-axle comes from Cummins, the battery packs from Proterra in California, and US vehicle supplier Meritor will supply the electric drive. Depending on the variant chosen, the trucks should have a range of between 150 and 200 kilometres.
“We’re building on the key learnings from our European launch, where we’ve developed at speed and scale, with deep understanding of our customers’ needs, to accelerate the transition to electric commercial vehicles and help decarbonise city centres,” says Volta CEO Essa Al-Saleh. The show comes at an opportune time as the US government is set to raise the bar on emissions stardards in US cities which will accelerate the demand for electric vehicles.
“I’m delighted to be able to show the all-electric Volta Zero in the important US market, at ACT Expo in California”, exclaims the Volta CEO. “This marks the start of our journey in the US, and we are excited to bring road-certified vehicles for US customers to evaluate later this year.”
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