Volvo to deliver 20 heavy-duty electric trucks to Amazon

Volvo will deliver a batch of all-electric heavy-duty trucks to Amazon Germany before the end of this year. Logist.Today learned about this from a message published by the press service of Volvo Trucks.

According to the Federal Ministry for the Environment and Transport, trucks and other commercial vehicles account for about 36% of German inland transport emissions, making the decarbonization of road transport an important issue that needs to be addressed.

The Swedish automaker expects 20 Volvo FH Electric trucks purchased by Amazon to cover more than a million kilometers on the road every year.

Jessica Sandström, Senior Vice President Product Management, Volvo Trucks: “Large players in the transportation business are playing a key role in the industry’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions. So I’m glad Amazon is working with us to help reduce emissions from long, heavy hauls. Worldwide, we now have six models of electric trucks ready to order and in series production to meet the growing demand for decarbonizing freight transport. This is an encouraging step forward in mitigating the effects of climate change.”

Amazon said the Volvo electric trucks it is acquiring are designed to replace diesel counterparts and will play a key role in electrification initiatives in its transportation chain.

Andreas Marschner, Amazon VP of Transportation Europe: “Amazon is committed to decarbonizing its fleet, and the average mile is a sector that is notoriously hard to cut. That’s why the arrival of these Volvo electric trucks in our fleet is such a milestone. We are implementing one of the fastest growing commercial vehicle electrification programs and we will continue to invest and innovate to decarbonize and deliver packages to customers with zero emissions.”

According to information provided by the Swedish automaker, Amazon will be supplied with Volvo FH Electric tractor units, which have the following features:

  • battery capacity – 540 kWh;
  • output power – 490 kW of continuous power;
  • range on a single charge – up to 300 km (Volvo FH Electric can travel up to 500 km during a normal working day, if you add recharging during your lunch break).

In mid-September, Volvo announced the start of mass production of electric versions of heavy trucks: Volvo FH, Volvo FM and Volvo FMX, which can operate with a gross weight of 44 tons.