Swedish electric truck manufacturer Volta Trucks is to deliver 16 of its fully electric Volta Zeros to French transport and logistics company Heppner, which will include the first delivery of Truck as a Service charging infrastructure.
Heppner reportedly pre-ordered 16 Volta Zeros as well as the necessary charging infrastructure to run the vehicles, which includes a range of 22kW slow and 150kW fast chargers. The chargers will be installed by Volta Trucks’ charging infrastructure partner, Siemens.
Volta Trucks is hoping to build its reputation not only off the electric trucks it makes, but the larger ecosystem around those trucks. Billed as a Truck as a Service model, Volta is working to deliver the necessary support services and charging infrastructure needed to operate the Volta Zeros.
Through Volta’s Truck as a Service model, Heppner will have easy access to maintenance, servicing, insurance, and training services, and will also be relying on Volta Trucks for the development and implementation of all aspects of the migration to an electric truck fleet.
The 16 electric Volta Zeros will operate from Heppner’s depots in Rungis and La Courneuve in Paris and Lyon.
The first Volta Zero drove off the production line in September, with series production of customer specific vehicles to get underway early in the new year.
Available in four variants – including 7.5-, 12-, 16-, and 18-tonne variants – the original 16-tonne Volta Zero uses either a standard 150kWh, or the higher capacity 225kWh battery pack, to deliver a manufacturer-estimated range of 145-kilometres and 200-kilometres, respectively.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.