Volvo Wins Biggest Electric Truck Order
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Volvo Trucks announced DFDS, one of Europe’s largest shipping and logistics companies, placed an order for 100 Volvo FM series electric trucks, and noted it is the truck maker’s largest such order and one of the largest of its type yet in trucking.
“With these trucks, they will transport goods with zero emissions, which is fantastic,” Roger Alm, president of Volvo Trucks, said during a recent webinar.
First deliveries will begin in the fourth quarter of 2022 and continue throughout 2023.
We have just received our largest order ever for electric Volvo trucks to date – 100 new and shiny Volvo FM Electric will be delivered to logistics company DFDS starting next year! https://t.co/dBk0XHbDx3#electrification #electrictrucksinreality #electricvehicles pic.twitter.com/XGTeLf7adM — Volvo Trucks (@VolvoTrucks) October 6, 2021
The trucks will be used for both short and long transport in the DFDS logistics system in Europe, according to the Gothenburg, Sweden-based Volvo.
“Placing the largest e-truck order to date at Volvo, we put action behind our ambition to reach 45% CO2 reduction target by 2030,” Niklas Andersson, head of the logistics division at DFDS, said in a release.
Typical applications for the FM series include regional, distribution and longhaul transport as well as in building and construction.
The FM Electric can carry a gross combination weight of 44 tons and has a range of up to 300 kilometers (186.41 miles). With a top-up charging session during lunch, the distance can be extended. The vehicles can be charged both via overnight depot charging (each truck comes with an AC charger) and via high-power charging en route (DC charging). DFDS has chosen a financing solution provided by Volvo Financial Services.
Some European forecasters predict by 2025 there will about 40,000 medium- and heavy-duty battery-electric vehicles operating in Europe. Five years later the total is expected to surge to 270,000 electric trucks.
“The density of the charging infrastructure has to be built up,” Alm said. “We are very confident this will happen.
“But of course, investments have to be done. We are building our own [European] public infrastructure charging solution,” he said, and it’s expected to be in 1,700 locations close to distribution centers and highways.
Alm said the target was to have 50% of Volvo’s global truck deliveries be electric by 2030.
Volvo Trucks reported it started serial production of electric trucks in 2019, as one of the very first truck brands to do so. Its product range now includes six electric truck models: the FH, FM, FMX, FE, FL and the VNR, sold in North America.
In North America, meanwhile, several major U.S. trucking companies and private fleet operators have deployed Volvo VNR Electric models in California through the Volvo LIGHTS project.
These fleets include trucking and warehousing providers NFI Industries and Dependable Highway Express, less-than-truckload carrier Saia Inc., grocery chain Albertsons Cos. and food service carrier Quality Custom Distribution.
Volvo LIGHTS, which stands for Low Impact Green Heavy Transport Solutions, is a collaboration among Volvo Trucks North America, the South Coast Air Quality Management District and 12 other organizations to build the ecosystem necessary to support the broad introduction of battery-electric trucks.
Seth Clevenger contributed to this story.
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