Volvo FL Electric 2023 Quick Spin

Volvo’s choice of teal blue as the launch colour for its electric truck range is an interesting coincidence, given the current political situation in Australia. Regardless of your political leanings you have to admit it’s a change from past liveries.

With its tailgated curtain-side bodywork, fairing-fitted, extended comfort cab and side battery shields, the FL Electric struck a handsome pose out front of the Twin Waters Resort buildings. It came and went, carrying ATA delegates on short familiarisation drives around the estate, without making more than a slight hum in the process.

The Australian Government Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional development, Caroline King, sat behind the wheel for a photo-op and seemed impressed with the car-like ambience in the FL cabin.

The FL Electric is definitely a first-generation battery electric vehicle (BEV), relying on a propshaft and mechanical rear axle design. That’s probably a wise move, considering the need to introduce electrification in gradual steps. The next generation will almost certainly have an electric rear axle, with integrated motor and gearing.

The FL Electric is a two-axle distribution truck, with a GVM of 16 tonnes and a choice of 10 wheelbases, between 3800mm and 6500mm. Kerb weights of the cab/chassis vary between 7260kg and 7450kg, giving nominal payloads between 8740kg and 8550kg.

The tare weights reflect the additional weight of the battery/electric powertrain over a diesel two-axle truck, but the payload ratings should still be adequate for distribution work where freight normally cubes-out before it maxes-out.

Electric motor power of 130kW (174bhp) and torque of 425Nm don’t sound like enough, considering that the average ute has more grunt than that, but it’s easy to forget that electric motors deliver peak toque at lift-off and that figure hardly varies throughout the motor’s operating range. Torque is more important than power in the FL Electric’s intended vocations, doing mainly metro distribution tasks.

Also, the electric motor works in combination with a two-speed gearbox and different drive modes are available to set desired performance and energy usage levels.

The available battery pack choices depend on vocation and the chosen wheelbase. There are two-, four- and six-battery packs available, with capacities between 200kWh and 395kWh. The evaluation truck had a four-battery pack, for a total of 265kWh.

There is some confusion in the BEV world about battery types, but virtually all BEV car and truck batteries are lithium-ion types. The different names – cobalt oxide, manganese oxide, nickel manganese cobalt oxide and iron phosphate – describe only the cathode material. All of them use a graphite anode and all of them are lithium-ion batteries.

What multiplies the confusion is that the increasingly popular lithium-iron (LFP) battery is a lithium-ion battery, but with iron phosphate in its cathode material. When spoken, not written, lithium-ion sounds just like lithium-iron.

The batteries in the Volvo FL Electric are lithium and they’re the more expensive lithium nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) anode types. The choice for the FL Electric is deliberate, because the lithium NMC type is light for its power storage capacity and tare weight is critical in this class of truck. Heavy duty Volvo BEV trucks use LFP batteries which are heavier.

The downsides of the lighter NMC battery are around half the recharge-cycle life and more heat vulnerability.

Volvo claims a recharge time of 11-hour 22kW AC charging – typically overnight – or two-hour 150kW DC fast charging. The latter type of ABB charger was used to top up the evaluation truck battery during the ATA conference drive segments.

Volvo’s partnership with Swedish company ABB, said to be the largest producer of electric vehicle charging equipment in the world, is a definite asset in Volvo’s desire to provide complete transport electrification solutions. (ABB Australia’s Steve Amor gave ATA delegates a comprehensive insight into current and future charging technologies.)

Volvo is being cagey about pricing, but it’s certain that the FL Electric isn’t going to be a cheap investment.

Operating the Volvo FL Electric needs some driver familiarisation, because it’s obviously different from a diesel truck. However, for a driver coming from a modern AMT or automatic transmission equipped truck the step up isn’t so great. As with an AMT or auto truck, it’s a two pedal machine.

The driving difference comes from the fact that regenerative braking in the FL Electric is much more powerful than can be achieved with a diesel – even one with an engine brake.

‘Regen’ braking happens automatically when the driver lifts off the accelerator, but is greatly enhanced when the footbrake pedal is pressed. At this point, regen braking intensifies, to take the work off the service brakes and also to increase the regenerative charge going into the battery pack.

Inside the truck, our decibel meter hovered between very low 60 and 70dB(A) readings, with the main contributor being the heating and ventilation (HVA) outlets. As quiet as the truck interior is, you can bet Volvo is working on improving the aerodynamics inside the ventilation system, to further reduce HVA system noise.

The truck is designed to be as comfortable as it is quiet, with the standard suspension, front and rear, being full air. That provided excellent ride quality and handling and will make loading dock alignment a breeze.

Performance on the flat terrain of our test drive was most impressive, with brisk acceleration and ease of maintaining traffic speed. However, as with economical diesel-engine driving, extending battery operating range is down to gentle acceleration and maintaining momentum in traffic, rather than with aggressive pedal work.

The prejudice against electric trucks is easy enough to understand, sInce they don’t make any noise and for so many years noise has been associated with performance – hence the craze for open exhaust pipe on diesels. However, having driven several BEVs over the past year, we reckon the ’bums in seats’ experience will convince drivers of the electric advantage.

Power: 174hp (130kW)
Torque: constant 425Nm from zero rpm
Transmission: Volvo two-speed
Brakes: ABS/EBS disc brakes with hill hold
Retarder: Regenerative braking, two stage
Suspension: Air suspension front and rear
Batteries: Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide batteries; 265kWh capacity (optional 200kWh and 395kWh)
Range: up to 300km (claimed) after two-hour fast charging
GVM: 16 tonnes
GCM: 32.5 tonnes
Payload: 8550 to 8740kg
Wheelbases: 3800, 4100, 4400, 4700, 5000, 5300, 5600, 6200 and 6500mm