Volvo Trucks to launch electric heavy-duty truck lineup next year

Within a decade, Volvo Trucks plans to introduce electric options in its whole portfolio. Heavy-duty versions Volvo FH, Volvo FM and Volvo FMX are hitting the European market next year.

Volvo Trucks will offer a complete heavy-duty range with electric drivelines in Europe in 2021. It said its electrification push is contributing to efforts toward fossil-free transport. The Swedish company added it is testing Volvo FH, Volvo FM and Volvo FMX for regional purposes and urban construction operations.

The models will have a gross combination weight of up to 44 tons and a maximum range of 300 kilometers. Large-scale production is scheduled for 2022.

Volvo Trucks to phase out fossil fuels by 2040

“By rapidly increasing the number of heavy-duty electric trucks, we want to help our customers and transport buyers to achieve their ambitious sustainability goals. We’re determined to continue driving our industry towards a sustainable future,” the firm’s President Roger Alm said.

Last year, Volvo Trucks started manufacturing the Volvo FL Electric and Volvo FE Electric, intended for city distribution and refuse operations, primarily in Europe. In North America, sales of the Volvo VNR Electric, a truck for regional transport, start on December 3.

The press release adds longer-range battery-electric and fuel cell units would hit the market during the next decade and that the aim is to make the entire portfolio fossil-free by 2040.

Easing transition adjustment

“To reduce the impact of transport on the climate, we need to make a swift transition from fossil fuels to alternatives such as electricity. But the conditions for making this shift, and consequently the pace of the transition, vary dramatically across different hauliers and markets, depending on many variables such as financial incentives, access to charging infrastructure and type of transport operations,” Roger Alm explains.

The conditions for the major shift depends on financial incentives, access to charging infrastructure and type of transport operations, Volvo Trucks’ President Roger Alm says

He noted the chassis is designed to be independent of the driveline and that the same model can be powered by gas or diesel. According to the president of Volvo Trucks, the strategy leans on making the shift as smooth as possible for haulage operators, so that they can begin to adjust.

“We’re doing this by offering holistic solutions that include route planning, correctly specified vehicles, charging equipment, financing and services,” Alm stated.

Volvo Trucks is part of the Volvo Group, registered as Volvo AB. It still shares the logo with Volvo Cars, owned by Geely Holding from China.

Green push includes project financing, customer loans

Volvo Group simultaneously said it joined the Science Based Targets initiative, founded by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The maker of buses and trucks vowed to work on reaching net zero emissions by 2050 and complying with the terms of the Paris Agreement.

Furthermore, the group launched the Green Finance Framework to finance clean transportation projects. It said the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO Shades of Green) classified the scheme as dark green, its highest rating level.

Volvo Group said it would issue green bonds, loans and other instruments for research and development and manufacturing of electric vehicles, machines and engines with zero tailpipe emissions. Green loans will be offered for the purchase of its electric products, the press release revealed.