Sweden’s Volta Trucks, which has three facilities in Michigan, confirmed that it has entered the engineering phase for its 7.5- and 12-ton model electric heavy-duty trucks.
Designed by Volta Trucks’ partner, Astheimer Design in Warwick, U.K., the new full-electric vehicles will bear a close visual relationship to the larger 16-ton vehicle that launched in September 2020 and debuted in its production-ready design in November 2021.
The smaller models will carry over the principles of the innovative cab and premium working environment for drivers, with its low, central seating position and visibility and safety standards.
The 7.5- and 12-ton vehicle will fulfill a different use case to the existing 16-ton Volta Zero, with the 7.5-ton vehicle, as an example, able to operate on Sundays in a number of European territories where the 16-ton vehicle is currently excluded.
Engineering of the vehicles has now started, and a pilot fleet of vehicles is expected to be launched for customer trials in 2023, with series production due to commence during 2024.
“The full-electric 16-ton Volta Zero is our first vehicle and the heart of our brand,” says Ian Collings, chief product officer at Volta Trucks. “But when designing that truck, we knew that we’d need to scale the innovative packaging and cab concept to accommodate different size vehicles.
“Our customers tell us that they appreciate the safety and zero-emission operations offered by the 16-tonne Volta Zero, but also need those positive attributes in smaller 7.5- and 12-ton vehicles, and they need them quickly. Our creative partners at Astheimer have created an inspiring vehicle design that we’ve now started to engineer and bring to life. We’ve scaled up our Research and Development operations to ensure that we can deliver a portfolio of products to market, starting in a year’s time with the 16-ton Volta Zero.”
