Volvo continues to expand its presence in the electric vehicle marketplace.
Just three weeks after unveiling its Volvo FL Electric pickup and delivery truck in Europe, the company announced Tuesday it is expanding its product range with yet another electric truck. The Volvo FE Electric is designed for heavier city distribution and refuse transport operations with gross weights of up to 27 tonnes. Sales will commence in Europe in 2019.
“With the introduction of the Volvo FE Electric we have a comprehensive range of electrically powered trucks for city operations and are taking yet another strategic step forward in the development of our total offer in electrified transport solution,” says Claes Nilsson, president at Volvo Trucks.
“This opens the door to new forms of cooperation with cities that target to improve air quality, reduce traffic noise, and cut congestion during peak hours since commercial operations can instead be carried out quietly and without tale-pipe exhaust emissions early in the morning or late at night.”
The first Volvo FE Electric, a refuse truck with a superstructure developed together with Europe’s leading refuse collection bodybuilder, Faun, will start operating in early 2019 in Germany’s second-largest city, Hamburg, Volvo says.
“Hamburg, which in 2011 was named European Green Capital of the EU, has worked long and successfully on a broad front to enhance green and sustainable urban development. This applies not least in the transport sector, where electrified buses from Volvo are already being used in the public transport network. The experiences and ambitions from this venture make Hamburg a highly interesting partner for us,” says Jonas Odermalm, product line vice president for the Volvo FL and Volvo FE at Volvo Trucks.
Volvo adds the new Volvo FE Electric will be offered in several variants for different types of transport assignment. For instance with Volvo’s low-entry cab, which makes it easier to enter and exit the cab and gives the driver a commanding view of surrounding traffic. The working environment improves too as a result of the low noise level and vibration-free operation. Battery capacity can be optimized to suit individual needs, and charging takes place either via the mains or via quick-charge stations, the company says.
