Volvo Trucks sold 4.300 electric heavy trucks in 38 countries

Since its first fully electric trucks hit the road in 2019, Volvo Trucks has sold more than 4 300 electric trucks worldwide in 38 countries. It claims to be the European market leader in 2022, with a 32% share in the heavy electric truck market and an even greater share in the Americas (US and Canada), nearing 50%.

In 2022 the market for heavy (≥16 tonnes) electric trucks in Europe 27, plus Norway and Switzerland, grew by 200% to 1 041 trucks, according to data by IHS Markit. That’s still a marginal figure compared to the 145 000 (ICE) trucks Volvo sold in 2022. But it shows the electric truck is starting to push forward.

Trend  becoming clear

“Although the market for electric trucks is still small, the trend is clear: many of our customers are now starting their shift to electric. We intend to be the catalyst for this transition and aim for 50% of our global sales of new trucks to be electric in 2030,” says Roger Alm, President of Volvo Trucks, in a press release.

The truckmaker claims it currently offers the industry´s broadest product line-up with six products in series production, catering to a wide variety of transports in and between cities.

Volvo Trucks already produces lighter electric box trucks (FL & FE Electric) and heavy electric tractors (FH, FM & FMX Electric). Starting in March 2023, heavy box trucks and other built-on applications on the long-wheelbase platform will also be available in the FH, FM, and FMX electric model range.

Battery variants from 180 to 540 kWh

Volvo Trucks will offer several battery packs, based on 90 kWh units, from 180 to 540 kWh. This means customers can choose between different prices, ranges, and payload options to suit their application. The most extensive battery options (450-540 kWh) were the first to go on sale in December 2022, with production starting in March 2023.

These variants will also be available with different (sleeper) cab options. The 360 kWh variant with a 330 kW motor and a day cab will enter production in May 2023, with the smallest battery option following in September.

No link with Volvo Cars

Volvo Trucks is part of the larger AB Volvo Group (Aktiebolaget Volvo in Swedish), which also includes French Renault Trucks, which already included at that time American Mack Trucks and was acquired in 2001. Renault Trucks, selling around 50 000 trucks a year, is significantly smaller.

There are no links anymore with Volvo Cars, which was sold by AB Volvo to Ford in 1999 and later taken over by the Chinese Geely group. But Volvo Trucks still has a large production site in Ghent (Belgium), next to the car factory. Volvo Trucks is prepping its Ghent factory to start producing electric trucks along with the mother plant in Götenburg, Sweden.

Ghent will play a significant role in the group’s electrification, including battery manufacturing, as announced in October last year. By 2030, more than half of the 50 000 trucks that will be built in Ghent will be battery-electric (BET). Electric and hydrogen trucks will be mixed on the same production lines as diesel trucks.

Demand rapidly increasing

Volvo Trucks says the three conventional truck models represent around two-thirds of the company’s sales today. And the demand for electric trucks is rapidly increasing in many markets. One driving force is the need for transport buyers to shift to fossil-free transport to meet their sustainability goals.

Battery electric trucks (BET) are expected to outperform classic diesel trucks with an internal combustion engine (ICE) from 2025 onward in the total cost of ownership (TCO). Fuel cell trucks (FCT) will reach that point in 2030, while the cost advantage for the battery-electric truck will be 26 to 34%, a study by PwC published in 2022 shows.