Electric truck manufacturer Volta Trucks has revealed the forthcoming 7.5- and 12-tonne Volta Zero variants - the second product family in its full-electric vehicle range.
Designed by Warick-based partner Astheimer, working with Volta Trucks’ own engineering teams, the new vehicles look similar to the larger 16-tonne vehicle and are currently undergoing extensive engineering development and testing ahead of customer evaluation later this year.
The pilot fleet of vehicles is expected to be launched for customer trials in 2024, with series production due to commence in early 2025.
The vehicles will be visually identical at the front, with the 12-tonne vehicle having a longer chassis and body, and a second set of rear wheels and tyres to accommodate the increased vehicle payload.
The manufacturer said that the absence of the traditional internal combustion engine has enabled designers and engineers to completely rethink truck design in this segment.
The driver of a Volta Zero has a wide 220-degrees of direct vision around the vehicle through a glasshouse-style cab, which is designed to deliver a TfL five-star Direct Vision Standard rating for optimum visibility and the reduction of blind spots.
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The truck also comes with rear-view cameras that replace traditional mirrors, a 360-degree birds-eye camera showing the driver their complete surroundings, and blind-sport warning systems that detect objects down the sides of the vehicle.
Without the legacy internal combustion engine, the driver of a Volta Zero sits far lower than in a conventional truck, with their eye-line at around 1.8 meters, mirroring the height of pedestrians and other road users.
The Volta Zero’s central driving position also allows the driver to enter and exit the vehicle on either side, always onto the pavements for their own safety, and through sliding rather than swinging doors to also ensure the safety of passing cyclists
Volta Trucks also promises the driver an enhanced working experience, both the new 7.5- and 12-tonne Volta Zero which the manufacturer says is closer to driving a premium car, offering near-silent operations and an intuitive dashboard and interfaces.
Volta Trucks is predicting that the vehicles will make a significant contribution to the company’s objective to sell over 27,000 per year by 2025 and increasing in the years beyond.
Revealing the new range, Essa Al-Saleh, chief executive officer of Volta Trucks, said: “The forthcoming 7.5- and 12-tonne models complete the full-electric Volta Zero product family. They’ll sit alongside our 16-tonne vehicle, that’s currently engaged in extensive testing ahead of the first customer use later this year, and the 18-tonne vehicle that will start production in mid-2023.
“Our customers tell us that they really appreciate the safety and zero-emission attributes of the 16-tonne Volta Zero, but also need smaller 7.5- and 12-tonne vehicles in their operations. Our engineering teams are now scaling rapidly to be able to deliver all four vehicles at pace, as our customers ask of us.”
