Volta Kicks Off Engineering Of Smaller Electric Trucks, Will Enter Production In 2024

Volta trucks today announced that it has selected a single design concept for its upcoming 7.5- and 12-tonne trucks. With that, the vehicles can enter the engineering phase of development.

Smaller than their 16-tonne sibling, the new trucks will be able to operate on Sundays in a number of European areas where the larger truck cannot. The new models will carry forward Volta’s distinctive cab concept, which places the driver in the middle of the truck and, according to the company, offers industry-leading visibility and safety standards.

“The full-electric 16-tonne Volta Zero is our first vehicle and the heart of our brand,” said Ian Collins, Volta’s chief product officer. “But when designing that truck, we knew that we’d need to scale the innovative packaging and cab concept to accommodate different size vehicles.”

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The 7.5- and 12-tonne trucks will be developed from the ground up, but Volta says that that will be accomplished at a searing pace. Now that engineering has begun, a pilot fleet of vehicles is expected to hit test tracks in 2023, with series production coming a year later, in 2024.

The two upcoming Volta trucks have been designed by the company’s partner, Astheimer Design, which is based in Warwick, U.K. Similar to the larger truck, the new design is being called evolutionary.

“Our creative partners at Astheimer have created an inspiring vehicle design that we’ve now started to engineer and bring to life,” said Collins. “We’ve scaled up our Research and Development operations to ensure that we can deliver a portfolio of products to market, starting in a year’s time with the 16-tonne Volta Zero.”

Earlier this year, Volta announced its Road to Zero Emissions strategy, which will see the truck maker launch its fully electric vehicles in Paris and London. Those markets will be followed by Milan, Madrid, Randstad, and Germany’s Rhine Ruhr region. The automaker expects the new trucks to help go from 14,000 sales per year in 2024 to 27,000 by 2025.

The 16-tonne Volta Zero entered production in November. With a range of 95-125 miles (153-201 km), it’s ideal for companies that need to make deliveries within a city. The trucks help cut down on local emissions and are simply quieter than diesel-powered alternatives.