Euro electric truck start up, Volta has announced a major pre order for its electric delivery trucks with major logistics firm , DB Schenker confirming a pre order for almost 1500 Voltas, with the first trucks due to start work with the transport giant in the middle of next year.
Volta says that DB Schenker will use the first prototype of Volta Zero Trucks in real distribution conditions from the middle of next year and the findings from these tests will be incorporated into the series production of trucks to fulfil the order.
The trucks are to be built at Volta Trucks’ new contract manufacturing facility in Steyr, Austria.
The full-electric 16-tonne Volta Zero will be used in DB Schenker’s European terminals to transport goods from distribution hubs to city centres and urban areas.
The Volta uses a futuristic design and what the company calls a safety-oriented cab to protect vulnerable road users, along with its zero-emission drivetrain.
In the statement from Volta it says that, ‘together, DB Schenker and Volta Trucks will explore the potential uses of the technology to expand the offering with the rollout planned to begin at 10 locations across five countries.
The two companies say the partnership will also jointly develop specifications for the 12-tonne Volta Zero variant, conducting site testing to accelerate vehicle deployment of vehicles, and train drivers.
DB Schenker is one of the world’s leading logistics providers, with around 74,200 employees at more than 2,100 locations in over 130 countries. The company operates land, air and sea transports and also offers comprehensive solutions for logistics and global supply chain management from a single source.
Volta claims this is largest order for electric trucks in Europe to date and comes just days after the conclusion of the COP 26 conference in Glasgow.
Cyrille Bonjean, Executive Vice President Land Transport at DB Schenker in Europe, said that the company has many challenges to overcome on the road to carbon neutrality.
“The large-scale partnership with Volta Trucks allows us to significantly increase the pace of electrification of our fleet and invest in greener transport solutions, brings us closer again to our goal of carbon neutral logistics,” Bonjean said.
CEO of Volta Trucks, Essa Al-Saleh, said he was delighted to welcome DB Schenker as a Volta Trucks customer.
“Working with DB Schenker on Europe’s largest full-electric truck order demonstrates the confidence that major freight distributors have in our ability to deliver a world-class zero-emission vehicle on time and to the highest possible quality,” Al-Saleh said.
