Volvo announces world's first heavy-duty electric truck

Volvo has revealed plans to sell the world's first heavy-duty electric truck with a range of up to 300km in a bid to move to have their entire stock of trucks powered by electric batteries by 2040.

The Swedish developers hope to have half of their truck fleet powered by batteries by 2030 and have launched this EV to show battery power can be efficient for even the largest vehicles.

The new heavy-duty player is set for commercial launch next year, and to go into mass production by 2022.

They will be available for regional transport and urban construction, but not for commercial deliveries immediately.

Customers will be able to customise their trucks depending on their needs, including range and how often their batteries will need to be recharged.

Electric vehicle sales have tripled across the board in 2020 as both legislature and government hurry to meet climate emissions targets.

It is estimated that new electric vehicle (NEV) sales will account for 25% of the Chinese automarket by 2025, climbing to 50% by 2035.

Volvo began their journey away from fossil fuels in 2008 when they launched a hybrid bus, and just last year, started production of medium-sized electric trucks used primarily in waste collection and for delivery services.

Many European companies are making the switch to meet the new climate targets set by the EU, who hope to slash greenhouse emissions by 55% by 2030.

Yesterday Volkswagen announced they would make the EU's new climate targets, even if overall vehicle sales are lower than forecast.

Volvo's heavy-duty trucks can weigh as much as 44 tonnes, but the corporation hopes to apply battery-powered technology to all of them in the future.

It has also launched two industrial construction vehicles - a cement mixer and a hooklift truck - that are powered by electricity in collaboration with Swerock.

Jessica Sandstrom, head of product and vehicle sales at Volvo Trucks, told the FT: “It’s important to go from nice statements to real action — this is one really big step in this direction."

She added: “Volvo will stretch electric as far as we can, but it will be difficult to use it for very long-distance trucks and the heaviest vehicles.”

"Fuel cells or bio-liquefied natural gas could be possible solutions for those trucks, but the precise set-up would depend on discussions with politicians about the infrastructure.

“Having a truck and the service around it isn’t going to be enough. It’s about having a whole ecosystem around it."

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