All subjects
Storage & Logistics

Volvo Trucks to start selling electric trucks in 2019

Sweden-headed Volvo Trucks has revealed that the company will start selling electric medium-duty trucks in Europe in 2019, with the first units will be put into operation together with a few selected reference customers already this year. “Electromobility is fully in line with Volvo Truck’s long-term commitment to sustainable urban development and zero emissions,” said Claes Nilsson, President Volvo Trucks.

According to the WHO and the UN, 60%of the planet’s population – about 5 billion people – will live in cities by 2030. This is an increase of just over 1 billion compared with current levels. This swift pace of urbanisation will impose immense demands on traffic systems, which in many cases already are insufficient to meet current needs. Within the EU it is estimated that congestion and related traffic problems cost about EUR 100 billion annually (photo courtesy Volvo Trucks).

Electric trucks drastically reduce noise and exhaust emissions and open up for new ways to manage logistics. More transport assignments can be carried out at night and fewer trucks need to compete for road space during rush-hour.

Our technology and know-how within electromobility are based on proven commercial solutions already in use on Volvo’s electric buses, and solutions that were introduced in Volvo’s hybrid trucks as far back as 2010. The vehicles themselves are only one part of what is needed for large-scale electrification to succeed. We are working closely with customers, cities, suppliers of charging infrastructure and other key stakeholders to create the necessary framework for electrical trucks, said Jonas Odermalm, Head of product strategy medium-duty vehicles at Volvo Trucks.

Enabling long-term sustainable transport is a complex issue that requires a holistic and wide range of measures.

We believe in full electrification for urban distribution as a first step. However, we are working with electrification for other transport applications. This is only the beginning, concluded Claes Nilsson, President Volvo Trucks.

Most read on Bioenergy International

Get the latest news about Bioenergy

Subscribe for free to our newsletter
Sending request
I accept that Bioenergy International stores and handles my information.
Read more about our integritypolicy here