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Volvo officially began commercial sales of its VNR electric heavy truck in North America today, ahead of production, which will begin “early 2021”.
The truck will be available in three configurations: a 33,200-pound single-axle truck with GCWR and two tractor configurations, a 4 × 2 with 66,000 pounds and a 6 × 2 with 82,000 pounds GCWR.
We attended Volvo Trucks’ launch event for the electric VNR earlier this year in Fontana, California. Fontana is located in the heart of Southern California’s Inland Empire, an area that has seen tremendous growth as a logistics center for inbound shipments to the United States via Long Beach, home to the country’s two largest container ports.
Volvo has been running a pilot program for over a year at Fontana, working with local logistics companies to evaluate the viability of these electric trucks. At the launch event, we heard from both drivers and executives who seemed satisfied with the trucks until then.
Today’s announcement doesn’t give us much more additional information about trucks, but simply that they are available for commercial sales. Availability has been moved from “late 2020” to “early 2021” (not unlike another electric truck you may have heard of) and the battery size has been reduced from 300kWh to 264kWh.
Volvo says the 264 kWh battery will allow a range of up to 150 miles based on the truck’s configuration and the battery will be able to charge up to 80% within 70 minutes with a fast enough DC charger. The electric transmission will provide 455 horsepower and 4,051 lb-ft of torque.
VNR Electric primarily targets local and regional distribution applications, such as food and beverage and pickup and delivery routes.
Watch Volvo’s video featuring the truck here:
In addition to the obvious cost of fuel and the environmental benefits that come with electric trucks, Volvo Trucks also foresees other logistical and human resource benefits. Disposing of noisy and smelly diesel engines will allow for quieter and cleaner operation, making life easier for drivers. Quieter trucks could also allow for more flexible delivery times, allowing for overnight deliveries around the area, thereby reducing traffic and adding more flexibility for logistics managers.
While the VNR Electric is not yet expected to be fully autonomous, it will have many of Volvo’s active safety features, such as Volvo Active Driver Assist and Lane Departure Warning.
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