Volta Trucks is gearing up to showcase its highly-anticipated Volta Zero electric truck at the US ACT Expo trade show in early May this year. The vehicle is classified in US Class 7, which means a 15-tonne truck, and US customers are expected to receive some examples of the Volta Zero in Classes 6 and 7 for fleet testing by the end of 2023, followed soon after by the market launch.
The company first announced its US market entry in May last year and has been working tirelessly to adapt the 16-tonners that were developed for Europe to suit US specifications. These will be offered in two versions with cooled and uncooled batteries. Volta Trucks CEO, Essa Al-Saleh, says that the production of the vehicles with US specifications will start soon after the completion of fleet tests.
The prototype of the Class 7 Volta Zero will be on display at its US debut at the ACT Expo in Anaheim, California from May 1-4, 2023. Volta Trucks will have executives and product experts on hand to answer questions about the all-electric truck, the truck-as-a-service subscription model, and vehicle charging options.
Volta Trucks plans to launch a US-based Driving Experience Program for fleet operators later this year, which should enable fleet operators to evaluate a pilot fleet of Volta Zero trucks in real distribution environments. After the fleet tests, which are to take place with as yet unnamed logistics companies on the US West Coast, production of the series vehicles is expected to start in 2024.
Volta Trucks is poised to revolutionize the commercial trucking industry in the US with its electric vehicles. The company’s 16-tonne Class 6 and 7 Volta Zero models will be followed by Class 5 and 6 trucks in 2026, equivalent to Europe’s 7.5- and 12-tonne vehicles. The US version (as well as the EU model) relies on numerous components from American production: the highly integrated E-axle comes from Cummins, the battery packs from Proterra in California, and US vehicle supplier Meritor will supply the electric drive. Depending on the variant chosen, the trucks should have a range of between 150 and 200 kilometres.
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With the US government set to raise the bar on emissions standards in US cities, the demand for electric vehicles is set to skyrocket. Volta CEO Essa Al-Saleh says, “We’re building on the key learnings from our European launch, where we’ve developed at speed and scale, with deep understanding of our customers’ needs, to accelerate the transition to electric commercial vehicles and help decarbonise city centres. This marks the start of our journey in the US, and we are excited to bring road-certified vehicles for US customers to evaluate later this year.
