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Volvo Trucks North America has announced plans to start selling its VNR Electric Class 8 truck in the U.S. and Canada next month.
The VNR electric, which will enter production in early 2021 at Volvo’s New River Valley manufacturing plant in Dublin, Va., is the latest development in the company efforts to create non-diesel Class 8 offerings and will be available for purchase starting Dec. 3.
“Volvo Trucks is committed to lead the commercial transport industry toward more sustainable solutions by advancing electromobility,” said Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks North America, in a Nov. 5 announcement. “We will continue to invest in and drive the development of this technology, both globally and right here in North America.”
The VNR Electric news came shortly after an earlier announcement from Volvo Group that it would begin selling electric versions of its heavy-duty trucks starting in Europe in 2021.
The range of the trucks could be up to 186 miles, and volume production will begin in 2022, according to a statement by the Swedish truck maker Nov. 5.
Volvo is aiming for 35% of the trucks it sells to be zero-emission vehicles by the end of this decade, and expects to have phased out production of combustion-engine trucks running on fossil fuels by 2040.
“We need to have a rolling fleet that is 100% fossil-free, globally, by 2050 at the latest,” CEO Martin Lundstedt said on the webcast Capital Markets Day. “The transformation and shift will happen segment by segment, market by market and region by region.”
The electric truck fleet Volvo plans to begin selling in Europe in 2021 is seen in a press photo. (Volvo Group)
The development comes as truck makers are racing to get zero-emission vehicles on the roads. Besides traditional rivals such as Daimler AG, Traton SE’s Scania and Paccar Inc., Volvo faces competition from new entrants, including U.S.-based Nikola Motor Co. and China’s BYD Co.
“We have had a positive view on how well-positioned Volvo has been in this respect,” Pareto analysts Magnus Behm and Anders Roslund said in a client note.
“Several indications of R&D ambitions and spending, development work and new product all have indicated that Volvo is ahead of its peers. In our opinion, the news [Nov. 5] confirms this,” the analysts said.
A major stumbling block to electrifying heavy-road vehicles is battery weight, which makes it hard to build trucks capable of hauling goods over long distances. The range of electric Volvo trucks that will go on sale from next year are designed for regional transport and urban construction, and the company hopes that a joint-venture with Daimler will allow it to offer longhaul vehicles later this decade.
Green Financing
As part of its transition to electrified vehicles, the company also announced plans to sell its first debut green bonds via a new financing framework.
The framework, which is classified as “Dark Green” by research firm CICERO, also will enable Volvo Financial Services to offer green loans to customers who buy electric products.
RELATED: Volvo, Daimler Sign Binding Agreement for Fuel Cell Joint Venture
In recent weeks, Volvo Car AB, Daimler and Volkswagen AG have locked in lower borrowing costs by tapping into the insatiable demand for green assets. Another Swedish truck maker, Scania, said last month that it is planning to sell an inaugural green bond in its home market.
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