Swedish electric commercial vehicle manufacturer Volta Trucks has added two lower-capacity models to its Volta Zero design.
The 7.5-tonne and 12-tonne vehicles will join the 16-tonne variant unveiled in 2020, with all three aimed at applications in city centres where strict emissions regulations are in place.
Similar in overall design to the 16-tonne model, the two new versions of the Volta Zero are identical at their front end, but the 12-tonne version has a longer chassis and body along with an additional rear axle to cope with a heavier payload.
Both vehicles retain the distinctive cab formed mostly of glass. The driver sits in a central seat mounted much lower than in a conventional truck, at around pedestrian level and has a 220-degree field of vision with blind spots greatly reduced.
Rear-view cameras replace traditional mirrors and a 360-degree bird-eye camera is also fitted, while the cab is fitted with sliding doors, making entry easy from either side.
Volta is yet to reveal the range of the new trucks, but is quoting 95 to 125 miles between charges for the 16-tonne variant.
All three versions of the Volta Zero have been designed in the UK by Astheimer Design, based in Warwick, but will be built at a new manufacturing facility currently being established at Steyr in Austria.
The 16-tonne Volta Zero is expected to reach its first customers later in 2022. A pilot fleet of the two smaller models is planned to start operating in 2024 ahead of series production beginning in 2025, while an 18-tonne variant is also in Volta’s plans.
Volta already has more than 6,000 orders for the Zero, with logistics operator DB Schenker having ordered 1,470 vehicles and refrigerated hire specialist Petit Forestier 1,000. The company hopes to sell more than 27,000 vehicles across the four models by 2025.
