Volvo pushes e-truck transition…

Volvo Group says it’s at the forefront of the transition of the road transport industry to a sustainable, fossil-free future, but that here in Australia legislative change is urgently required to allow and accelerate the adoption of electric commercial vehicles.

Volvo put on a show of force for its zero-emission ambitions at the recent 2023 Brisbane Truck Show, with global Volvo Group President, Roger Alm, and Senior Vice President Volvo Trucks International, Per-Erik Lindstrom, flying into the country just before the show to headline a Volvo Trucks Sustainability Summit at VGA’s Wacol headquarters, flanked by senior VGA executives.

From a dais bookended by two electric Volvo trucks – an FE Electric model destined for logistics giant Geodis, and the first example of the heavy-duty FH Electric to reach Australia – Mr Alm outlined the speed and magnitude of the transformation already underway within the road freight sector.

“This is actually the biggest transformation since we gave up horses and wagons 100 years ago,” he said. “And we are only in the beginning of this huge transformation and a lot of things will happen in the coming years.

“As Volvo Trucks, we are the first mover into this transformation because we decided very early that electrification is the best way to reach zero [emissions] in transport for our customers and as a society.”

Volvo Trucks says it has around a 50 per cent market share of the electric truck market in Europe and in the US, and that it has sold over 5000 electric truck models to over 1000 customers so far. The brand currently offers six different electric truck models on the world stage – the FE, FL, FM, FH, FMX, and VNL – and says that while sales are still small, they are growing and growing fast.

On a global footing, Volvo says it’s working towards having battery electric or fuel cell electric vehicles account for half of its sales by 2030, and that all trucks it sells will be net-zero-emission vehicles by 2040.

“So, we are expecting a massive shift in the coming years, towards zero emission,” said Mr Alm. “But it will happen, segment by segment, customer by customer, and market by market. Many companies have set very ambitious targets to reach zero emissions. To reach them, our customers have to decarbonise the entire transport value chain, and we will support our customers in this and give them peace of mind.”

Volvo Group Australia President, Martin Merrick, says electrification will play a leading role here in Australia too, despite the inherent complexities of our road freight landscape.

“Will battery electric vehicles be suitable for Australia?,” he said. “Thirty-five per cent of the freight task is covered in urban areas. That is perfect and ideal for battery electric vehicles.”

However, Mr Merrick said legislative change was urgently needed, before the truck industry could play its part in Australia realising its own carbon reduction goals.

“The disappointing thing I have to say [is that] in the National Electric Vehicle Strategy that was launched recently, there [was] very little comment on heavy-duty transport,” he said.

The uptake of electric trucks in Australia is presently hamstrung by two current regulations in particular – a maximum vehicle width of 2.5 metres (Volvo’s electric trucks have a width of 2.55 metres), and a maximum front axle mass limit of 6.5 tonnes (which isn’t sufficient to allow for the appreciable weight of battery packs).

“Of course, we need more charging infrastructure but that is not the barrier we have right now,” Mr Merrick said. “I need to be clear on this: the barrier we have right now is legislation.

“It’s our intention to [start] building these beauties here in that plant behind you by 2027,” he said, motioning to the FL Electric and FH Electric trucks either side of the stage.

“We’ve set our [Australian] targets: a 50 per cent reduction of greenhouse gases by 2030, and to build these beauties right here, in Australia, by 2027. But I have to be clear, if we don’t get legislation change then we won’t meet those targets.”

Mr Merrick said the electrification of heavy vehicles had massive potential to reduce carbon emissions in Australia, outstripping even the net gains of the electrification of passenger cars.

“This is not just theory, it’s happening today,” said Mr Merrick. “We have these [trucks] lined up at the starting gate – it’s not when, we have these right now. We are already committed – we’ve been committed [to Australian customers] for over 50 years – and our customers are committed.

“But again, just to be clear, I strongly urge government of all levels to work together to create a taskforce to deal with this legislative issue now, then we can really take down greenhouse gas emissions here in Australia.

“We have the technology, we have the factory, we have the dealer network, we have the customers. And we are ready.”

Mr Merrick said the Truck Industry Council and the Australian Trucking Association are lobbying government to address the issue.

“For me, the detail of it is that of course each state engages with its own engineers for roads and bridges and such like, and they have to come together and declare they’re happy to get to that level [a wider vehicle width and heavier, 7.5-tonne front axle mass limit],” he said.

“We’ve been discussing it with them for 18 months; I’ve been speaking with Sal Petroccitto, [CEO] at the NHVR, and it’s something that’s on-going. It’s taking time, but we need it to accelerate. I don’t feel there’s any reticence at all – I feel that everyone feels that it needs to be done, that it should be done – it’s just that it’s taking a fair bit of time, and we need a taskforce to come together to accelerate things.”