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is picture: Sales of the FL Electric will begin next year in Europe. Volvo says it’s the rst of a planned range of etrucks Below: e truck’s 185kW electric motor
Volvo switches on
NEWS
VOLVO TRUCKS HAS JOINED RIVAL DAIMLER IN
putting a fully-electric metro truck into service with customers.
e rst Volvo FL Electric trucks are going to work in the Swedish truckmaker’s home city, Gothenburg, as a leadup to the battery electric
vehicle going into series production next year.
Daimler’s specialist eFuso brand has been delivering a eet of fully-
electric eCanters to customers in Japan, the United States and Europe – aiming for large-scale production next year.
e FL Electric, with a 16-tonne GVW rating, is targeted at urban distribution, refuse collection and other metro applications.
It has a 185kW electric motor with a maximum 130kW continuous output and 425Nm peak torque. ey’re similar gures to those of the eFuso eCanter – with 185kW and 380Nm of maximum torque.
In the FL Electric, lithium-ion batteries with a maximum capacity of 300 kWh provide a range of up to 300 kilometres – replenished in two hours with DC fast-charging or 10 hours overnight on AC charging.
Sales of the electric Volvo will start in Europe next year and the truckmaker says that the FL is the rst in a planned range of fully electric Volvo trucks.
President Claes Nilsson says: “With this model we are making it possible for cities that aim for sustainable urban development to bene t from the advantages of electri ed truck transports.”
And Jonas Odermalm, head of product strategy, FL and FE at Volvo Trucks, says that to help make the transition from diesel to electric trucks “secure and smooth” for customers, it will o er “holistic solutions based on each customer’s individual needs, regarding driving cycles, load capacity, uptime, range and other parameters.
“Such a solution may encompass everything from route analysis and battery optimisation to servicing and nancing.”
Volvo Trucks points out that it has the bene t of the electric vehicle knowledge of sister company Volvo Buses, which has sold more than 4000 electric vehicles since 2010. us the technology used to power the FL Electric and store its power “has been thoroughly tried and tested from the outset and is supported by Volvo Trucks’ far-reaching network for sales, service and parts supply.”
Odermalm says that cities, energy supplier and vehicle manufacturers need to co-operate “in order for large-scale electri cation to become a
reality.
“With attractive incentives, agreed standards and a longterm strategy for
urban planning and expansion of the charging infrastructure, the process can go much faster.”
Odermalm says that Volvo believes it is essential to take a holistic view of electri cation of the transport sector – ensuring, for instance, that raw materials for the batteries “are extracted in a responsible way...”
And supporting various projects to reuse the batteries from heavy electric vehicles for energy storage.
Volvo Trucks Australia vice president Mitch Peden says of the FL Electric launch: “We look forward to o ering this cutting-edge technology to operators in Australia and New Zealand in the future.
“In certain applications, electric vehicles o er signi cant advantages for operators and society through dramatically reduced emissions and noise levels, but also strongly support Volvo’s ambition of reducing the environmental impact of transport.
“As always,” he adds, “in line with our core value of quality,” the company “will not bring anything to market without the extensive validation and testing required for the unique and challenging conditions of Australia and NZ.” T&D
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