Nick Carey

LONDON (Reuters – Volta Trucks, a startup that makes commercial electric vehicles (EVs), unveiled on Tuesday two models of smaller trucks with zero emissions. These will be available in 2025 and allow for more urban delivery as well as in EU markets where Sunday deliveries are restricted.

Volta Trucks from Stockholm, which is also based in the UK said that it will launch a fleet test vehicles for its 12 and 7.5-tonne trucks in order to provide a service to customers by 2024.

They will be joining the Volta Zero (16-tonne, fully-electric truck), which starts series production this year. A 18-tonne model should start production in 2023.

Volta Trucks announced in February it had raised 247 million dollars ($230 million) to finance the Volta Zero series production.

Trucks over 7.5 tons are prohibited in some countries of the European Union. Cities like Amsterdam prohibit trucks exceeding that weight, to preserve old streets and bridges.

Some European cities have also planned restrictions on diesel commercial vehicle use. Paris, for example, will prohibit them from 2024. While prototypes are being tested by a few manufacturers and some European cities like Paris are considering doing the same in 2024. However there is virtually no available electric truck in this weight segment today. Volta Trucks’ models of 7.5 and 12 tonnes will be the first on the market.

Volta Trucks Chief Executive Essa al-Saleh stated in a statement that customers told her they appreciate the safety of the Volta Zero 16-tonne, but need smaller vehicles 7.5- to 12-tonne for their business.

The startup has approximately 6,000 orders, of which 1,500 were placed by Schenker, Deutsche Bahn’s logistic unit.

Volta Trucks intends to produce 5,000 trucks in 2023. Its annual production will rise to 27,000 trucks by 2025.

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