Volvo announced that it will be one of the first manufacturers to start selling heavy-duty electric trucks in 2021, with volume production beginning in 2022. The 44 tonnes (48 ton) trucks would have a range of up to 300 km (186 miles), depending on the configuration. The company has already begun testing an electric concrete mixer and hook lift truck in partnership with the Swedish construction firm Sherlock.
The new trucks are electric versions of Volvo’s FH, FM, and FMX trucks, used for regional transportation and urban construction. Since they’re designed to do absolutely short runs between concrete plants and city construction sites. Volvo Trucks president Roger Alm told the Financial Times that the company was aiming for operational costs – including fuel, financing, and second-hand value.
The company plans to gradually introduce heavy long-haul trucks in this decade with a mix of battery-electric and hydrogen-powered fuel-cell models. The latter will arrive in the second half of 2020, and Volvo plans to have its entire product range fossil-free by 2040.
Tesla’s heavy-duty Semi should still launch ahead of Volvo’s electric trucks, as it’s now scheduled to ship in 2021 after production was withdrawn in 2019. However, the Semi is designed more for long/short haul duties, not construction, with a longer range of 300 or 500 miles, depending on the configuration. We’ve also seen electric semi-trucks from Nikola, Mercedes, Cummings, and Volvo’s Swedish rival, Volta.
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