Volta Zero Is A 16-Tonne Electric Truck With A Central Driving Position

Swedish startup Volta Trucks has unveiled the Zero, a 16-tonne all-electric truck that will be built in the UK from 2022.

Billed as “the world’s first purpose-built full-electric 16-tonne commercial vehicle designed specifically for inner-city parcel and freight distribution”, the Volta Zero is said to offer a driving range of 150 – 200 km (95 – 125 miles), validated using simulations with a full payload.

The electric truck will use an innovative e-Axle to drive the rear wheels, rather than a conventional electric motor and driveshaft set-up. More specifically, the single electric motor, transmission, and axle are contained in a lightweight and compact e-Axle unit that’s lighter and more efficient.

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It’s also more compact, providing packaging benefits by freeing up space between the chassis rails. That’s where Volta Trucks fits the Lithium Iron Phosphate battery pack, which will be available with a capacity of 160 – 200 kWh.

According to the company, the Lithium Iron Phosphate battery technology is well suited to large commercial vehicle use as it delivers a long cycle life, robust cell design, and good thermal stability. It also provides safety benefits, as it does not ignite in case a battery cell is punctured. Last but not least, the Lithium Iron Phosphate battery contains no precious metals, eliminating the associated sourcing issues of those materials.

By designing the Zero from the ground up as an all-electric vehicle, Volta Trucks was able to completely rethink the design. The truck features a glasshouse-style cab that enables the driver a wide 220-degrees of direct vision around it. The central driving position with a swivel seat certainly helps too.

The driver sits far lower than in a conventional truck, with their eye-line at around 1.8 meters (70.8 inches) – about the same level as the height of pedestrians and other road users. This enhances safety, as do the rear-view cameras that replace traditional mirrors, 360-degree birds-eye camera, and blind-spot warning systems that detect objects down the sides of the vehicle. Other safety tech includes Active Steering, Road Sign Assist, Reversing Assistant with reversing camera, Lane Change Assist and Lane Departure Warning.

The cabin is spacious and light, offering a natural palette of colors, materials, and finishes. It also features intuitive user interfaces: the central display conveys critical information while touch screens on each side are used for lights, climate control, navigation and trip planning, communication, and in-cab media. To make ingress and egress easier, the Volta Zero features fast opening sliding doors on either side of the cabin.

Thanks to its overall design, the truck can operate in narrow city streets as it’s 9,460-mm (372.4-in) long, 3,470-mm (136.6-in) high and 2,550-mm (100.4-in) wide, with a wheelbase of 4,800 mm (189 in). When it comes to capacity, the Volta Zero offers a payload of 8,600 kg (18,960 lbs) and is designed to accommodate 16 Euro pallets thanks to an overall volume of 37.7 cubic meters (1,331 cu ft). A refrigerated cargo box will also be available.

With a top speed limited to 90 km/h (56mph), the Volta Zero will begin undertaking operator trials in the first half of 2021, working with major European parcel delivery and logistics companies. Customer-specification vehicles will be delivered from 2022, when production is scheduled to start in the UK. The demonstrator vehicle featured in the photos was built by Prodrive Advanced Technology but for now it remains unclear whether the UK company will be involved in the Volta Zero’s mass manufacturing or not.