Electric commercial vehicle manufacturer Volta Trucks has revealed its forthcoming 7.5- and 12-metric ton Volta Zero variants, making them the second product family in its full-electric vehicle range.
The 7.5- and 12-metric ton Volta Zeros have been designed by Astheimer Design in Warwick, UK, alongside Volta Trucks’ own engineering teams. The new full-electric vehicles bear a close resemblance to the larger 16-metric ton vehicle which is now undergoing testing ahead of customer evaluation during 2022. The 7.5- and 12-metric ton vehicles will be visually identical at the front, with the 12-metric ton vehicle having a longer chassis and body, and second set of rear wheels and tires, to accommodate the increased vehicle payload.
The driver of a Volta Zero has 220° of direct vision around the vehicle thanks to a glasshouse-style cab, designed to deliver a Transport for London (TfL) five-star Direct Vision Standard rating for optimum visibility and the reduction of blind spots. The protection of vulnerable road users is also enhanced by rearview cameras that replace traditional mirrors, a 360° birds-eye camera showing the driver their complete surroundings, and blind-sport warning systems that detect objects down the sides of the vehicle.
Without the legacy internal combustion engine, the driver of a Volta Zero sits far lower than in a conventional truck, with their eye-line at around 1.8m. This mirrors the height of pedestrians and other road users nearby for easy visual communication. And thanks to the Volta Zero’s innovative central driving position, the driver can enter and exit the vehicle on either side, always onto the pavements for their own safety, and through sliding rather than swinging doors to also ensure the safety of passing cyclists.
A pilot fleet of vehicles is expected to be launched for customer trials in 2024, with series production due to commence in early 2025.
Essa Al-Saleh, CEO of Volta Trucks, said, “The forthcoming 7.5- and 12-metric ton models complete the full-electric Volta Zero product family. They’ll sit alongside our 16-metric ton vehicle, that’s currently engaged in extensive testing ahead of the first customer use later this year, and the 18-metric ton vehicle that will start production in mid-2023. Our customers tell us that they really appreciate the safety and zero-emission attributes of the 16-metric ton Volta Zero, but also need smaller 7.5- and 12-metric ton vehicles in their operations. Our engineering teams are now scaling rapidly to be able to deliver all four vehicles at pace, as our customers ask of us.”