Volvo Trucks launches second electric model

Volvo Trucks is to bring a second fully-electric model to the market, designed for city centre distribution and waste management operations.

The company announced the launch of its first electrified model last month (see airqualitynews.com story), the FL Electric 16-tonne truck aimed at urban logistics providers.

Volvo’s FE Electric truck

Announced this week, the new model — the FE Electric — will have a gross weight of up to 27 tonnes and is expected to be available to market in 2019.

The first Volvo FE Electric, a refuse truck with a body developed refuse collection bodybuilder, Faun, will start operating in late 2018 in Germany’s second-largest city, Hamburg.

Claes Nilsson, President Volvo Trucks, said: “With the introduction of the Volvo FE Electric we have a comprehensive range of electrically powered trucks for city operations and are taking yet another strategic step forward in the development of our total offer in electrified transport solutions.

“This opens the door to new forms of cooperation with cities that target to improve air quality, reduce traffic noise, and cut congestion during peak hours since commercial operations can instead be carried out quietly and without tale-pipe exhaust emissions early in the morning or late at night.”

Volvo

Volvo Group has some experience in the electric vehicles market through the Volvo Buses brand, which has a number of fully electric models in operation.

Volvo has claimed that there is ‘considerable market interest’ in electric trucks, with a number of new models coming to market in recent months.

Among the most recent entrants to the market is the Fuso Mitsubishi eCanter 7.5 tonne truck — which was launched in the UK last month. Companies including DPD, Wincanton and Hovis are among the first to trial the eCanter in the UK (see airqualitynews.com story).