Even the most passionate fan of the classic diesel powertrain would admit electric propulsion is a big part of our trucking future.
We may be years, even decades off from seeing battery-electric or hydrogen-powered trucks hauling B-Doubles down the Newell Highway.
But for businesses running light-duty and medium-duty trucks for inner-city work you can start to see diesel alternatives ruling the roost (at least overseas).
That’s why there have been so many players in the electric local and city delivery truck space, both your traditional manufacturers and disrupters entering the sales race, or at least planning to, in recent times.
One of those new players is the Swedish start-up, Volta Trucks.
We’ve been covering the establishment of this new brand over the last couple of years and now comes another major move – a plan to take on the massive U.S. truck market.
And Volta Trucks tell us they won’t just be selling trucks in America, they also plan to build them there.
The company has released an update that reveals plans to have the first Volta Zero vehicles operating on Los Angeles’ streets by the end of next year, and additional cities will follow.
The battery-electric 16-tonne truck will be offered to customers with a dry or refrigerated cargo box. Other variants will also come online.
While all North American Volta Trucks will feature the same powertrain as that utilized overseas – a one-piece unit (electric motor, transmission, and axle) supplied by Meritor.
Batteries come from Proterra, a U.S. manufacturer, and the truck has a range of up to around 125 miles (200 kilometers).
And there will be ‘Volta Trucks Hubs’ for vehicle service and maintenance, according to the company.
Lastly, in regards to U.S. manufacturing, Volta Trucks announced it had plans to partner with a local manufacturer and commence those operations around the middle of the decade, though no names were mentioned.
There has been no commitment yet to the Aussie market by Volta, we’ll keep you updated though.
