Volvo Launching VNR Electric Trucks in U.S., Canada

Volvo Trucks North America announced it will begin selling its Volvo VNR electric truck model in the United States and Canada beginning on December 3, 2020. Volvo Trucks will begin producing the Volvo VNR electric model at its New River Valley manufacturing plant in Dublin, Virginia in early 2021.

Volvo Trucks also announced that it will offer a range of electric heavy-duty trucks in Europe in 2021, and that during this decade this will be followed by the development of electric vehicles for heavy long-haul operations, including battery-electric and fuel-cell electric trucks with a longer range. Volvo Trucks plans to start selling electric trucks powered by hydrogen fuel cells in the second half of this decade, and the objective is to have a fossil-free product range by 2040.

“By rapidly increasing the number of heavy-duty electric trucks, we want to help our customers and transport buyers to achieve their ambitious sustainability goals. We’re determined to continue driving our industry toward a sustainable future,” said Roger Alm, president of Volvo Trucks Corporation.

From Volvo Trucks’ perspective, the company said the transition to more sustainable transport is largely about making the shift as smooth as possible for fleet operators, so that they can begin to adjust. The solutions offered must be fossil-free and allow fleets to achieve the necessary levels of profitability and productivity.

“As part of the very successful Volvo LIGHTS project, which we started in 2019 in Southern California in collaboration with 14 other pioneering organizations, we validated the viability and reliability of the Volvo VNR Electric in real-world operations and proved what it takes to create a holistic, end-to-end electromobility solution to drive true sustainability in the trucking industry,” said Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks North America. “We are fully confident in bringing this new technology to the commercial market.”