Volvo Trucks says new monitoring data of its electrified trucks, including the VNR Electric, has confirmed the vehicles have completed 50 million miles (80 million kilometers) of real world driving since 2019. That's also the equivalent of 2,000 laps around the planet. Covering the same distance with diesel-powered trucks would have consumed over 25 million liters of diesel fuel. Tailpipe CO2 emissions have been reduced by 68,000 tons.
Additional electrified Volvo Trucks include the FL Electric, FE Electric, FM Electric, FM Low Entry, FMX Electric, FH Aero Electric, and the best-selling FH Electric.
“I am happy to see how transport companies are embracing the benefits with electric trucks in daily operations. The transport sector represents 7% of global carbon emissions and battery-electric trucks is an important tool to reduce the climate footprint. Thanks to many early adopters we can already now see the huge potential with this technology," says Volvo Trucks President Roger Alm.
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The company says it's learned several lessons over the past five years. Examples include:
- It pays off to be an early adopter. Transport companies with electric trucks have a strong competitive advantage when being able to offer emission-free transport to customers.
- Maximizing the utilization of the investment in both the electric truck and charging infrastructure builds a strong business case for transport companies.
- The benefits of electric trucks go beyond the environmental gains. Drivers are experiencing a significantly better working environment with much lower levels of noise and vibrations.
Being one of the first to market with electrified heavy-duty semis brings another benefit: raw data. Volvo Trucks says global deliveries of electric trucks increased by 256% to 1,977 units in 2023, and interest continues to climb. Europe is a vital market with over half of electric truck buyers opting for a Volvo in the first quarter of this year. Volvo says its electric truck segment share came to 56%.
The United States is also proving to be an important market with 44% of sold electric trucks coming from Volvo. Earlier this year, Volvo Trucks North America announced the creation of Volvo on Demand, its first Charging as a Service (CaaS) business model. It aims to help fleets acquire battery-electric trucks and reduce upfront investments. It also started Volvo Autonomous Solutions (V.A.S.) in 2020.
Europe and the U.S. are not the only markets where the company is achieving success.
More than 3,500 electric trucks have been delivered in 45 countries on six continents. Last year, the truck maker expanded its electric truck presence to Latin American, specifically Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay, where it delivered its first heavy-duty units. Volvo Trucks also became the first OEM to deliver battery-electric heavy trucks in Morocco, South Korea, and Malaysia.
[Related: Battery-electric development outpaced charging infrastructure deployment, says Volvo Trucks VP]
“Not only transport companies but also buyers of transport- and logistic services are signing up to SBTi – Science Based Target initiative – and are starting to demand sustainable transport solutions from their providers. This is yet another driver of the shift to electric trucks," Alm added.
