Volta Trucks has revealed the new Volta Zero, a purpose-built fully electric 16-tonne commercial vehicle designed specifically for inner-city parcel and freight distribution.

It provides a range of 95 to 125 miles and can carry an 8,600Kg payload.

Due to its electric powertrain, which incorporates an electric motor in its rear axle, the Volta Zero has 90% less mechanical parts than an equivalent internal combustion engine vehicle.

Volta Trucks is targetting the same Total Cost of Ownership as equivalent diesel-powered vehicles.

The Volta Zero will begin operator trials in the first half of 2021 with some of Europe’s largest parcel delivery and logistics companies

Orders have already been taken from companies wanting to secure the first vehicles, which are due to be delivered when production starts in 2022.

The removal of the internal combustion engine has enabled the designers and engineers of the Volta Zero to rethink truck design. It provides the driver with 220-degrees of direct vision around the vehicle.

The glasshouse-style cab is designed to deliver a TfL five-star Direct Vision Standard rating. The protection of vulnerable road users is also enhanced by the use of rear-view cameras that replace traditional mirrors, a 360-degree birds-eye camera showing the driver their complete surroundings, and blind-sport warning systems that detect objects down the sides of the vehicle.

The design of the cabin is contemporary, spacious, and light, with 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.

“With the launch of the Volta Zero, we are changing the face of road transport. Volta Trucks is redefining the perception of the large commercial vehicle, and how it operates in and integrates with, the zero-emission towns and cities of the future.

This is made possible by the three pillars that define both Volta Trucks as a business and the Volta Zero - safety, sustainability, and electrification. Add to that our unique Truck as a Service proposition that reimagines a fleet manager’s business model. At Volta Trucks, we are directly contributing to society’s migration towards an electrified future,” said Rob Fowler, chief executive officer of Volta Trucks.

Assistance technoligies such as Active Steering, Road Sign Assist, and Reversing Assistant with reversing camera, ensuring drivers have the latest safety support systems when operating in the confines of the city centre. There is also Lane Change Assist and Lane Departure Warning systems ensure that the truck operates as safely as possible.

Volta Trucks says the Volta Zero can operate in narrow city streets and undertake the role that three or four 3.5-tonne vehicles would ordinarily do.

With an overall volume of 37.7 cubic metres, the truck can accommodate 16 Euro pallets. A refrigerated cargo box will also be available, without reducing overall volume as a result of the vehicle design. Volta Trucks is integrating the use of the vehicle’s battery for the cooling and refrigeration unit of the cargo box that's normally diesel-powered, further reducing CO2 or particulate emissions from commercial vehicle operations. 

More articles on: