A jury of 24 commercial vehicle journalists and truck writers in Europe have voted Volvo Trucks’s FH Electric range as its International Truck of the Year for 2024.
It was the first time in the 46 year history of the International Truck of the Year award, which dates back to 1977, that an electric truck in series production wins this prize.
As well as that four out of five trucks on this year’s ITOY award shortlist were battery-electric models.
The International jury said that it’s proof that the energy transition is gaining momentum in the transportation sector, even though a suitable enabling ecosystem for BEV is still not in place in the EU.
The jury of 24 commercial vehicle editors and senior journalists represents 24 major trucking magazines throughout Europe according to the statement from the Truck off the Year organisation.
The award was presented to Roger Alm, the president of Volvo Trucks, during the press day for Solutrans, the biennialEuropean trade fair for haulage and urban transport professionals, held at Lyon in France.
The Swedish truck manufacturer’s heavy-duty electric range garnered a winning score of 84 votes, to fight off challenges from Mercedes-Benz’s eActros 300/400, and the Scania’s 45S battery electric truck (BEV).
The organisation said that the annual award is based on the International Truck of the Year (IToY) rules, and goes to the truck introduced into the market in the previous 12 months, making the most significant contribution to road transport efficiency. This judgment relies on several critical criteria, including technological innovation, comfort, safety, driveability, energy efficiency, environmental ‘footprint,’ and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
The IToY journalists praised the performance, the seamless acceleration, the quietness, and the vibration-free behavior of the highly efficient electric powertrain of the FH Electric, based on two or three electric machines of 330 or 490 kW continuous power, coupled with the latest generation I-Shift gearbox. Equally crucial in the winning score of FH Electric for regional cargo transport was the vast offer of axle configurations for tractors and rigids, the availability of four cab versions, and the modular portfolio of battery packs – from two to six – according to the transport mission requirements.
Summing up the jury vote, International Truck of the Year Chairman Gianenrico Griffini said that with the introduction of the FH Electric Volvo Trucks has delivered a state-of-the-art BEV range, suitable for a wide array of transport operations.
“It’s proof that energy transition is gaining strength even in today’s challenging business environment,” said Griffini.
