All-electric commercial vehicle manufacturer Volta Trucks and logistics service provider DB Schenker have completed the first on-road test phase of the fully electric Volta Zero in Paris, France, where a design verification prototype Volta Zero was operated on roads and in distribution facilities.
Having formed a partnership in 2021, a pre-order of approximately 1,500 Volta Zero vehicles was made, stated to be the largest order ever made for medium-duty electrified trucks in Europe.
The 16-metric ton Volta Zero will be used by DB Schenker at a variety of European terminals to transport goods from distribution hubs to city centers and urban areas. Through a collaborative effort, Volta Trucks and DB Schenker will evaluate use cases for the sustainable technology before it is offered elsewhere. Upon being rolled out the truck will be used at 10 locations in five different countries within Europe.
“Since the beginning of the cooperation between DB Schenker and Volta Trucks, we have been in close contact and continued to drive the development of the vehicle forward together,” said Cyrille Bonjean, executive vice president, land transport, DB Schenker Europe. “It was great to see the result live on the streets of Paris. It all started with an idea – now it’s a reality and we look forward to adding the first pilot vehicles to the fleet in Europe at the beginning of 2023.”
Essa Al-Saleh, chief executive officer, Volta Trucks, said, “When we announced Europe’s largest order of full-electric trucks with DB Schenker, we also entered into a partnership to work together to decarbonize urban logistics. The first use of a full-electric Volta Zero in a real-world testing environment is a significant proof point of the depth of the collaboration. To see Volta Zero vehicles operating on the streets in Paris is extremely exciting and is a great forerunner to us delivering significant volumes of customer trucks at scale in the near future.”
