Volta Trucks, a leading and disruptive full-electric commercial vehicle manufacturer and services provider, will be present for the first time at a French trade show – Solutrans from November 16 to 20 in Lyon Eurexpo. The company, which 14 months ago unveiled the demonstration vehicle of the Volta Zero, the first purpose-built 16-tonne 100% electric truck designed for last mile urban logistics, is coming to meet its potential French customers.

The Volta Zero demonstration vehicle will be on display at the Petit Forestier booth (Hall 4, Booth L117). Petit Forestier are a strategic partner of Volta Trucks, and as the European leader in refrigerated truck rental, has placed a pre-order for 1,000 Volta Zero. Its subsidiary, Lecapitaine, is also responsible for fitting out the refrigerated boxes that will be ordered from the manufacturer.France is an important launch market for us and we already have a number of projects underway. Over the last few months, we have seen a real interest from fleet operators for the Volta Zero as France moves to implement some of the world’s most progressive zero emission cities. We are looking forward to showing the Volta Zero to the visitors at Solutrans. This is an opportunity for us to put Volta Trucks on the manufacturer’s landscape, to get customer feedback on the Volta Zero, and to educate the audience on the benefits of electric vehicles and the purpose it addresses in the commercial vehicle sectorCarla Detrieux, Business Development Director of Volta Trucks

Since the launch of the Volta Zero in September 2020, Volta Trucks has come a long way, in particular through a European roadshow to meet fleet operators and customers. In all, no less than 1,000 customer meetings have been organised in France, Spain, Italy, Germany, UK and the Netherlands. These meetings provided a wealth of information and helped input customer needs into vehicle development so that it meets actual needs. The resulting modifications will be integrated into the pilot fleet vehicles which will be operating with customers in mid-2022. They will be tested in real world conditions by customers.

2,500 pre-orders have been registered for a total amount exceeding 600 million euros, the vast majority of which is intended for the French market.

The company recently announced that the first Volta Zero vehicles will be produced in Steyr, Austria, by Steyr Automotive, formerly MAN Trucks and Bus Austria. Series production will start in late 2022.

Volta Trucks also unveiled its Road-to-Zero Emissions strategy in May. The company intends to produce four Volta Zero models, ranging from 7.5 to 19 tonnes, with manufacturing forecasts of over 27,000 units by 2025.

Two fund-raising rounds have been completed, the first of US$ 20 million last January and a second, recent Series B round of €37 million to accelerate the company’s growth and produce the pilot fleet.

Volta Trucks is deploying a city-by-city development strategy, focusing initially on London and Paris. Its objective is to create an innovative Truck as a Service model in each of its target cities. Truck as a Service will combine all of the elements of running an electric commercial vehicle, including financing, insurance, charging, and service and maintenance, into one monthly fee, making the transition as seamless as possible for the fleet operator.

About the Volta Zero.

The Volta Zero is the world’s first purpose-built full-electric 16-tonne vehicle designed for inner-city logistics, reducing the environmental impact of freight deliveries in city centres. Designed from the ground up with an operating pure-electric range of 150 – 200 kms (95 – 125 miles), the Volta Zero will eliminate an estimated 1.2M tonnes of CO₂ by 2025.

Safety is also at the heart of Volta Trucks, with its ambition of producing the safest trucks for our cities. The Volta Zero was designed for electric from the outset, which facilitates a step-change in vehicle, driver and pedestrian safety. Thanks to the removal of the internal combustion engine, the operator of a Volta Zero sits in a central driving position, with a much lower seat height than a conventional truck. This combination, plus a glass house-style cab design, gives the driver a wide 220-degrees of visibility, minimising dangerous blind spots. The prototype Volta Zero was launched in September 2020, with the first vehicles expected to be operating with customers in mid-2022.

About Volta Trucks.

Volta Trucks is a scale-up full-electric commercial vehicle manufacturer and services company. Volta Trucks’ Head Office is in Stockholm, Sweden, with its engineering led from the UK, and forthcoming manufacturing facility in Steyr, Austria. The company also has sales teams across France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and the UK. Volta Trucks is partnering with a number of global leaders in the supply chain for the development and production of the Volta Zero.