In an announcement made today, Volvo Trucks revealed haulers in Europe will be able to order all-electric versions of its heavy-duty trucks starting in 2021.
The rest of the company’s truck lineup will join The Volvo FL Electric and Volvo FE Electric models in electrification for city distribution and refuse operations. As far as North America, Volvo Trucks will begin sales of the Volvo VNR Electric for regional transport on December 3, 2020.
Volvo Trucks released a brief video with the description of stating “Volvo Trucks will sell a complete range of battery-electric trucks for distribution, refuse, regional transport and urban construction operations starting in Europe. Our massive drive towards electrification marks a major step forwards on the road to fossil-free transport.”
The Volvo FH Electric, FM Electric, and FMX Electric are expected to be utilized for regional transport and urban construction operations in Europe. There will be multiple battery configurations with the top ones will offering up to 300 km (186 miles) of range.
According to the company, these trucks will be available in Europe in 2021 while volume production is scheduled for 2022: “Sales will begin next year and volume production will start in 2022. This means that from 2021 onwards Volvo Trucks will sell a complete range of battery-electric trucks in Europe for distribution, refuse, regional transport and urban construction operations.”
In addition to the the company’s announcement of electrifying its entire truck lineup, Volvo Trucks expects BEVs to be joined by longer-range hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the next twenty years: “Electric vehicles for demanding and heavy long-haul operations will follow in this decade. These will be battery-electric and fuel cell electric trucks with a longer range. Volvo Trucks aims to start selling electric trucks powered by hydrogen fuel cells in the second half of this decade. Volvo Trucks’ objective is for its entire product range to be fossil-free by 2040.”