Volvo to build electric trucks in Qld
Volvo is committed to being fossil-fuel free by 2040 and Australia will play a part by producing electric trucks in Wacol, Qld
Volvo Trucks Global President, Roger Alm, has confirmed that the company’s manufacturing facility in Wacol, Queensland, will produce electric vehicles in the near future.
Mr Alm was speaking to trucksales.com.au this week following the launch of the
and said that the Wacol factory was something that the company was very proud of and that it certainly is in the future plans of the company.Mr Alm said that Volvo Trucks as a company is committed to having half of its new-truck output being electric by 2030, and that by 2040 all new Volvo trucks will be fossil-free.
”We will start with [electric] production in Europe and already have a range of electric trucks being manufactured there,” Mr Alm said.
“We also intend to have factories in other markets and that includes Queensland, but when that will be, I’ll have to get back to you,” he added.
Asked when the last diesel truck made by Volvo will roll down the line, Mr Alm was circumspect: “That will happen one day and the combustion-engine trucks will be replaced by electric, but when that will happen, I can’t say.”
Obviously the factory in Walcol will have to be modified to produce electric and indeed other alternative-fuelled trucks and that will take time, but we were assured by Mr Alm that the longevity of the factory and the fact that it will produce electric trucks is assured.
“We hope that you will be there to see the first electric truck come down the line at Wacol,” Mr Alm said.
“We are very proud of the factory we have in Queensland,” he concluded.
Mr Alm was joined in the conversation with Trucksales by Jessica Sandström, Head of Product Management of Volvo Trucks globally: “We already are doing research and development in Australia and as you know we have two trucks currently in the Linfox fleet in Australia,” she said.
Ms Sandström has been heavily involved with the electric vehicle program with Volvo Trucks for the past 15 years and when asked about the perennial question of range she said that that was very much front-of-mind at Volvo: “As you know, we’re now introducing the 300-kilometre range [trucks], and we are following the technology development and we believe the next step is 500 kilometres… and as the technology advances, we will continue to evolve.”
“We also see the fuel cells is a good complement as well for long-range vehicles,” Ms Sandström added.
Related reading:
Linfox gets its second full-electric truck
Volvo pushes electric transition
First electric Volvo FL arrives in Aus
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