It has been a while since we heard from Volta Trucks. The European EV, the commercial vehicle maker, has been busy preparing for the debut of its production model, the Volta Zero, with the firm kicking off a testing program for interested companies back in 2022. However, it appears that things are in the home stretch, with Volta confirming that it has accepted customer orders for the first 300 slots in the manufacturing order, with the company confirming that this will help them snag an estimated profit of €85 million.
Volta Trucks Poised To Make Its Mark In Commerical Trucking Sector
In addition to the announcement, Volta Trucks also confirmed that the first production Zeros would begin rolling off the assembly line in Steyer, Austria, later this year. While this 300 figure may seem like a figurative drop of water when compared to the 6,500 pre-orders that Volta Trucks has touted in a prior announcement, it’s important to note that this bigger total is reflective of not only Zero demand worldwide but also future Volta models including some that would appeal to bigger trucking segments.
Unlike other EV trucking manufacturers like Nikola and Tesla, Volta Trucks is not entering the traditional semi-truck market. Instead, the Volta Zero will compete in the medium-duty market, which is often considered the heart and soul of commercial operations, especially businesses that would need something to haul large loads but don’t want to move up to a bigger semi truck. The 16-ton model will eventually be joined by smaller variants and a larger model. Still, Volta execs kept information on those models close to the vest for now and confirmed that their short-term sales plans would focus solely on the 16-ton model.
Volta Trucks has made important progress in the first few weeks of 2023, confirming more than 300 customer truck orders for the first vehicles off our production line in Austria. This covers a meaningful portion of our 2023 production targets, before customers have pilot tested the vehicles. This is a major achievement and demonstrates the compelling features of the Volta Zero and the trust that our customers have in our ability to deliver,” said Essa Al-Saleh, Chief Executive Officer of Volta Trucks.
Volta Zero To Make Its Way Stateside
Along with broadening its plans in Europe, Volta Trucks is also preparing to enter the U.S. market and is preparing a carefully constructed roadmap that will allow it to not only navigate regulations hurdles but also give customers time to experience what the truck has to offer. These include preparing a service network as well as enhancing taaS (trucks as a service) functionality, and finalizing plans for U.S. production outside its main plant in Austria.
The first 100 Volta Zero models will enter Los Angeles in 2023 with these 100 Class 7 16-ton models serving as a rolling test bed for Volta, with he data and experiences gathered from these trucks being used to finalize the truck that will eventually enter full-scale production. While the company is currently testing “design validation” prototypes in Europe at the moment, it plans to have 1,500 units built by the time Volta kicks its U.S. operations into high gear.
Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. First starting out as a freelance photographer before making the transition to writing during college, his work has appeared on numerous automotive forums as well as websites such as Autoshopper.com.
Carl is also a big fan of British vehicles with the bulk of his devotion going to the Morgan Motor Company as well as offerings from Lotus, MG, and Caterham. When he is not writing about automobiles, Carl enjoys spending time with his family and friends in the Metro Detroit area, as well as spending time with his adorable pets.