Volvo ready to electrify the industry
With sales starting this year of three new heavy-duty all-electric models, Volvo Trucks believes the time is right for a rapid upswing in electrification of heavy road transportIn a bold press release from Volvo’s Global head office in Sweden, the transport giant has said that large international transport buyers are showing strong interest in electric vehicles.
The statement went on to say that this is being driven by their won ambitious climate goals as well as consumers’ demands for cleaner transport.
“More and more transport companies are realising they need to start their electrification journey right now, both with the environment in mind and for competitive reasons to satisfy customer requirements for sustainable shipping. With our wide and deep offering, it is totally feasible for far more transport companies to go electric,” said Roger Alm, President of Volvo Trucks.
Production of Volvo’s new electric FH and FM models, for which Volvo is already taking orders, will start in the second half of 2022. They will join the Volvo FL Electric and FE Electric for which have been in production since 2019.
In North America, sales of the Volvo VNR Electric started in 2020.
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This means that the company now has a line-up of six medium and heavy duty electric trucks which Volvo says is the most complete commercial electric truck range in the industry.
Volvo stated that with the addition of the new products with higher load capacities, more powerful drivelines and range of up to 300 kilometres, its electric truck portfolio could cover around 45 per cent of all goods transported in Europe today. A bold statement indeed.
Hydrogen fuel cell next
Looking further ahead, Volvo says even long-distance transport will be possible with electric vehicles.
As we reported earlier this year, Volvo is in collaboration with Daimler Trucks to fast-track Hydrogen fuel cells to generate electricity for long-haul trucks.
“This technology is developing rapidly and our ambition is also to make the long driving distances electrified, using both batteries and fuel cells,” Roger Alm stated. “Our aim is to start selling fuel-cell electric trucks in the second part of this decade and we are confident we can make this happen.”
Technical specs
Volvo FH, FM and FMX Electric: Range up to 300km. Continuous power 490kW. Max torque 2400Nm. Battery capacity up to 540 kWh. Gross combination weight (GCW) up to 44 tons.
Volvo FE Electric: Range up to 200km. Continuous power 330kW. Max torque up to 850Nm. Battery capacity up to 264 kWh. Gross combination weight (GCW) 27 tons.
Volvo FL Electric: Range up to 300km. Continuous power 165kW. Max torque up to 425Nm. Battery capacity up to 396 kWh. Gross combination weight (GCW) 16 tons.
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