FIRST DRIVE

Start-up companies bring fresh thinking and new energy to projects and they often spur on and enhance existing product lines. In many cases, the speed of their new product introduction to the market place is impressive, much faster than new items from long established companies. In relation to the automotive industry, this timeline to bring a new product to market can be as much as halved.

A perfect example is Volta Trucks. This Anglo-Swedish project to create an ultimate, all-electric urban delivery truck, namely the Volta Zero, has happened within three years, with already large fleet orders secured on the back of solid and strong financial backing and partnerships, formed with leaders in their respective fields. Volta’s aim is to produce a vehicle that will reduce operators’ carbon footprints to benefit the urban environment and also to help reduce fatal accidents and injuries occurring to pedestrians, cyclists and other wheeled mobility users.

Dovetailing this initiative is that the Volta Zero, with its unique design will counteract the decline in attracting drivers to the sector.

From what was explained and sampled at an exclusive press launch event at the UTAC Proving Ground at Millbrook, Bedfordshire, near London, the Zero has many redeeming features, such as:

n Broad glazed area with 220 degree visibility n Low central driving position n Sliding doors with low entry n Digital mirrors and 360 degree camera system n 2 or 3 battery packs =150 - 200km n 16 tonnes - 16 pallet load provision version initially n 7.5/12/26 tonne GVW models to come

n Up to 100% charging in less that 1 hour

n Low centre of gravity for better driveability

The turnaround from virtual to reality is amazing as previously mentioned. What began in 2019, the Volta Zero Urban Delivery Truck is now a reality, with the first real time field test versions rolling off the production line at Steyr, Austria. This facility, owned by the MAN Group, once made trucks for the national Star brand and more recently the TGL light to medium range from MAN.

Set for launch officially next Spring, the speed, scale and focus of the team never wavered. The 16-tonner will be available first, to be followed by the 7.5 to 12t models and ultimately a three-axle 26 tonne rigid. By 2025, Volta expects to be producing 15,000 units, with entry into the North American market underway by then.

From only a handful of employees to over 500 today, the investment and growth of the company has been phenomenal. The company’s biggest target markets are major cities like London, as well as European countries, with Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium and Netherlands among those being targeted.

Getting a major project like this to happen, the sales and aftermarket sides of the business must also be taken care of. In London, for instance, the Central Sales Hub will take on dealing with and meeting customer requirements,

while the newly appointed London Hub, located near the new Tottenham Hotspur FC’s grounds, will cater for any repairs and maintenance needed within its 8-bay workshop. This facility will also accommodate the Volta Training Academy. Similar hubs in Paris and Milan are currently being worked on.

Unique to Volta Zero’s design is a lower centre of gravity than other medium sized rigid trucks due to the fact that it has no propshaft, just an electric axle, with the battery packs positioned between the central chassis rails. Aerodynamics play a big part of the vehicle’s overall design and the low entry cab, digital mirrors and shaped recycled carbon fibre side pods lessen the wind resistance.

This 16 tonne GVW two-axle, fully bodied rigid truck can carry 16 pallets with an 8 tonne payload. A longer wheelbase 18 tonner, for example, can take two more pallets/2 tonnes more.

Before any customer deal is done, all electrical functions will to be put in place, such as the installation of the Siemens Charging Station (which will be compatible to other BEVs), while pilot or demonstration drives can avail of a mobile battery charging station. Curtain side and flat-bed body options will come on stream in time.

Chatting with Essa Al-Saleh, CEO, Volta Trucks at the event, the full ecosystem will also be provided such as route mapping, maintenance, charging points, telematics and training, plus recommendations on finance and insurance. “The Volta Zero package is completely different to anything else in the marketplace, appealing to a broad generation of drivers, with an average route distance of between 50-80 km within their urban working day. Therefore the 150-200 km available is perfectly adequate for this type of operations. It’s an €82 billion sector, that we want a slice of.”

Having seen the Zero at various trade shows, the first time to be able to actually drive it was highly anticipated. The vast choice of roads within and around the Millbrook Proving Ground, provided a perfect environment for the test drive, with the hilly section and the reconstructed city streetscape examples of the kind of real world driving conditions the vehicle can be expected to be used in.

Bearing in mind that the model driven was one of the early prototypes, not all of the engineering elements were included such as hill hold, regeneration-braking, phone charging inductor, or air ventilation to face and hands, while the steering stalks for the lights and wipers were positioned too far from the steering wheel for easy use. All these provisions will be included when the final production variants go on sale. There is even talk of a walk through facility from cab-to-load area for the 7.5 tonner, to ensure delivery efficiencies. It may be possible to take out the kerb-side seat and install a parcel pod that could reduce delivery times and load bay parking further.

Even in prototype specification, the Zero moved free and easy, with the central driving position providing excellent all-round visibility - a big plus in the urban environment - aided by

the digital mirrors placed inside on the A-pillar. Using this method of rearward vision, with their thin arms (like the point-out indicators of old), ensures that there is no cause for external mirror damage.

Acceleration is slick, yet smooth but the driveline does need some form of regeneration plus a hill hold option. What was most surprising was the extremely tight turning circle offered, better than some LCVs. It turns in quite sharply, in fact.

To date, many fleet orders have come from early adaptors, such as the blue chip logistics companies. In time, with volume uptake, SMEs will see the Zero as a viable commercial option in meeting their zero-emission targets and needs.

As the saying goes ‘A lot done and lots more to do’ from Volta Trucks, as the journey continues.