Volvo’s electric trucks have driven more than 80-million km or 2 000 laps around the world since Volvo launched its first electric truck models in 2019. The trucks have reduced CO2 emissions and at the same time improved the working environment for drivers significantly.
New monitoring data for Volvo’s fleet of electric trucks reveal that they have driven more than 80-million km in commercial traffic around the world since 2019. Covering the same distance with equivalent diesel-powered trucks would have consumed more than 25-million liters1 of diesel and in the process tailpipe carbon dioxide emissions have been reduced by 68 000 tons2.
“I am happy to see how transport companies are embracing the benefits of electric trucks in daily operations. The transport sector represents 7% of global carbon emissions and battery-electric trucks are an important tool to reduce the climate footprint. Thanks to many early adopters we can already now see the huge potential of this technology,” says Roger Alm, President Volvo Trucks.
Volvo’s early entry in the electric truck segment has built a unique expertise in electric zero-emission transport – learnings that are used in the development of Volvo’s next-generation electric offers.
- It pays off to be an early adopter – transport companies with electric trucks have a strong competitive advantage when being able to offer emission-free transport to transport buyers
- Maximising the utilisation of the investment in both the electric truck and charging infrastructure builds a strong business case for transport companies – by optimising logistics and driving routes, and sharing charging facilities between operators
- The benefits of electric trucks go beyond the environmental gains – drivers are experiencing a significantly better working environment with much lower levels of noise and vibrations
Volvo Trucks’ global deliveries of electric trucks increased by 256% to 1 977 trucks in 2023 and the company sees continued interest from customers in 2024. In Europe, more than half of the electric truck customers chose a Volvo during the first quarter of this year – Volvo’s share of the electric truck segment was 56%. In the United States, Volvo represented 44% of all sold electric trucks.
Volvo has so far delivered more than 3 500 electric trucks to customers in 45 countries on six continents. During 2023, Volvo Trucks expanded its electric truck presence as it delivered its first extra heavy electric trucks to Latin America, with vehicles going to customers in Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay. Volvo also became the first truck maker to deliver battery-electric in Morocco, South Korea, and Malaysia, as well as the first to introduce extra heavy electric tractor models in South Africa.
“Not only transport companies but also buyers of transport- and logistic services are signing up to our SBTi (Science Based Target initiative) and are starting to demand sustainable transport solutions from their providers. This is yet another driver of the shift to electric trucks,” says Alm.
Volvo’s electric trucks meet the needs in a wide range of applications – from urban distribution and waste management to regional haul and construction. Over the five years of electrification, Volvo has also built a strong expertise in optimising the use of installed energy, charging and servicing of electric trucks.
From 2019 until today, Volvo Trucks has gradually expanded its electric offering to today’s range which includes eight fully electric trucks, with all the extra heavy electric tractor models also available here in South Africa.
The Volvo electric truck models on offer are the Volvo FL Electric, FE Electric, FM Electric, FM Low Entry, FMX Electric, FH Electric, FH Aero Electric and the VNR Electric. The top seller is the Volvo FH Electric which recently was selected as the prestigious International Truck of the Year Award for 2024.
