Electric truck manufacturer Volta Trucks and logistics provider DB Schenker have completed the first on-road test phase of the fully electric Volta Zero on roads and in real distribution environments in Paris.

In 2021, the companies confirmed a partnership and pre-order of nearly 1,500 Volta Zeros – the largest order for medium-duty electrified trucks in Europe to date. The 16-tonne Volta Zeros will be used in DB Schenker’s European terminals to transport goods from distribution hubs to the city centres and urban areas.

Together, Volta Trucks and DB Schenker will explore the potential uses of the technology to expand the offering. The rollout will begin at ten locations in five countries.

“Since the beginning of the cooperation between DB Schenker and Volta Trucks, we have been in close contact and continued to drive the development of the vehicle forward together,” said Cyrille Bonjean, executive vice president land transport at DB Schenker in Europe.

“It was great to see the result live on the streets of Paris. It all started with an idea – now it’s a reality and we look forward to adding the first pilot vehicles to the fleet in Europe at the beginning of 2023.”

Essa Al-Saleh, chief executive officer of Volta Trucks, added: “When we announced Europe’s largest order of full-electric trucks with DB Schenker, we also entered into a partnership to work together to decarbonise urban logistics. The first use of a full-electric Volta Zero in a real-world testing environment is a significant proof point of the depth of the collaboration.

“To see Volta Zero vehicles operating on the streets in Paris is extremely exciting and is a great forerunner to us delivering significant volumes of customer trucks at scale in the near future.”