You'll never hear it coming, which will be great for urban areas once electric trucks hit the mainstream.
Volvo TrucksVolvo Trucks is one of the largest manufacturers of heavy commercial vehicles in the world, and the Swedish company is about to widen its expertise with its first all-electric truck, the FL Electric.
Using technology honed in sister company Volvo Buses' efforts, this new electric truck will leave the factory with road-proven components when manufacturing and sales kick off in 2019.
The powertrain consists of an electric motor putting out 175 horsepower (up to 248 hp in short bursts) and 313 pound-feet of torque. It carries between two and six lithium-ion batteries for a net capacity of 100 to 300 kWh. With all six batteries, it has a range of up to 186 miles, which should suffice for around-town deliveries and the like.
It'll take a couple hours to charge a depleted 300-kWh battery pack via 150-kilowatt DC fast charging. If it's plugged into 22-kW AC power, expect the charge to take an entire evening, about 10 hours or so.
The first two examples of the Volvo FL Electric will be put to use in Volvo's hometown of Gothenburg, Sweden. One will go to garbage and recycling collector Renova, and the other will go to hauler TGM. It's an electric delivery truck -- I hope you weren't expecting it to go to Jean-Claude Van Damme's house or anything like that.
Sure, it might not be as cushy as the XC90, but it's probably better than what it's meant to replace.
Volvo Trucks
