Volvo Trucks has achieved a significant milestone in its electric truck journey by making its first true commercial delivery of a medium-duty FE electric truck in Australia. The truck has been delivered to Geodis, one of Volvo’s logistics partners. This marks the first “purchased and delivered” truck for the company, following two electric trucks brought to Australia two years ago for a trial with Linfox.
The 6×2 FE Electric truck will transport parts from Geodis’s Matraville headquarters to Volvo Group Australia’s Minto distribution center in southwest Australia. The FE Electric has a payload capacity of seven tonnes and is equipped with four batteries with a capacity of 266 kWh. The truck has a quoted range of up to 220km depending on battery configuration, and the Geodis truck’s route will use around 69kWh. The truck can charge up at a 50kW charger at the main depot.
See also: Renault Trucks and Geodis develop heavy-duty electric truck for urban logistics
Jennie Alfredsson, Wacol based Volvo Group Regional Logistics Buyer, identified the route as being ideal for an electric truck and suggested it to the company’s head of emerging technology business development in Australia, Paul Illmer. Illmer said, “This project has been such a great example of multiple stakeholders working together to take yet another step towards decarbonizing our industry one truck at a time.”
Volvo Trucks started series production of heavy-duty electric trucks in 2022 at its Swedish base, making it the first global truck manufacturer to do so. The US, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden are the top markets for Volvo electric truck customers. In May last year, DHL announced its intention to purchase 44 Volvo FL and FE trucks for package deliveries in urban zones.
This delivery is a significant step in Volvo’s efforts to decarbonize the transportation industry, with over 80 electric truck orders in Australia since the FE was first introduced nearly a year ago. As more companies adopt electric trucks, the transportation industry will become increasingly sustainable, and the air quality in urban areas will improve significantly.
