Volvo Trucks plans to offer a complete range of all-electric heavy-duty trucks in Europe, starting in 2021. Sales will begin next year, and volume production will start in 2022.

The company is now running tests of the electric heavy-duty Volvo FH, FM and FMX trucks, which are aimed at regional transport and urban construction applications. These trucks will have a gross combination weight of up to 44 tonnes, and a range of up to 300 km, depending on battery configuration.

Volvo Trucks started manufacturing the Volvo FL Electric and FE Electric in 2019. These are intended for city distribution and refuse operations. In North America, sales of the Volvo VNR Electric, a regional transport truck, will start in December 2020.

Electric vehicles for “demanding and heavy long-haul operations” will follow “in this decade,” says Volvo. Some of these will be battery-electric, and some will be fuel cell-powered. Volvo Trucks aims to make its entire product range fossil-free by 2040.

Volvo Trucks President Roger Alm explained that the company hopes to enable customers to make a gradual transition to electric trucks. “To reduce the impact of transport on the climate, we need to make a swift transition from fossil fuels to alternatives such as electricity,” he said. “But the conditions for making this shift, and consequently the pace of the transition, vary dramatically across different haulers and markets, depending on many variables such as financial incentives, access to charging infrastructure and type of transport operations.”

Alm expects most transport companies to electrify their fleets in stages. “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.”

“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,” says Alm.

Source: Volvo Trucks