Volta Trucks has made two senior appointments to strengthen its engineering team ahead of the launch of its first vehicle, the Volta Zero, in the coming months.
The Scandinavian start-up electric commercial vehicle manufacturer, has welcomed Ian Collins as engineering director from automotive brand Polestar and Ben Anstey from Rivian.
Collins was head of UK research and development for the Geely-owned performance electric car brand. He was responsible for the creation of Polestar’s UK engineering facility and the appointment of a team of 120 engineers and designers.
Prior to this, Collins was technical director and CEO of Emerald Automotive Design, which delivered the LEVC TX e-city taxi from initial concept through to series production. He has also held senior engineering management positions at McLaren Automotive and Rover Group.
Anstey has been appointed to the role of chief engineer – electrical and control systems. He he held the position of senior director, vehicle systems at Rivian. In this role, he was responsible for the design, development, packaging, sourcing and integration of all body and safety electrical systems.
Anstey also had responsibility for functional safety, vehicle HMI attributes and vehicle systems engineering, and developed the initial architecture and concept phase of the Rivian Prime Vehicle.
Prior to working at Rivian, he held the position of head of vehicle electronics for McLaren Automotive, where he led all aspects of electronic and electrical system development for McLaren’s current and future portfolio of sports and super cars.
Rob Fowler, chief executive officer of Volta Trucks, said; “The creation of the world’s first purpose-built full electric commercial vehicle is a significant task. To achieve it, we are recruiting the world’s finest engineers and innovators to support us. Both Ian and Ben have played integral roles in the engineering and development of some of today’s most complex vehicles, and their experience will help support us and accelerate our plans. I’m delighted to welcome Ian and Ben to the rapidly expanding team at Volta Trucks.”
The Volta Zero is a purpose-built fully-electric 16-tonne vehicle, designed for inner-city freight deliveries. It has a range of 95-125 miles and is designed to offer a high level of safety. The driver sits in a central driving position, with a much lower seat height than a conventional truck. This combination, plus a glass house-style cab design, gives the driver a wide 220-degrees of visibility, minimising dangerous blind spots.
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Matt has been an automotive journalist for eight years. As senior staff writer he is responsible for the automotive content on Fleet News and also contributes to Automotive Management. Prior to this, Matt worked in the automotive industry for 10 years.
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