Volvo Trucks unveils new e-axle at IAA

Volvo Trucks unveiled a completely new, fully electric rear axle at the IAA transport show in Hannover, Germany. Freeing up space for more batteries, Volvo said the new e-axle means even longer range for the company’s battery electric trucks.

Volvo Trucks debuted a new e-axle for its electric trucks at IAA. (Photo: Volvo Trucks)

Volvo Trucks said it has the widest offering of battery electric trucks in the industry, with six different models in serial production. Depending on the model, the range is up to 440 km (273 miles) in one charge.

The new e-axle presented at IAA allows even more batteries on the truck by integrating the electric motors and the transmission into the rear axle. More batteries mean longer range, which creates opportunities for long distance transports to also be electrified. On the fuel cell electric trucks, that will be introduced in the second half of this decade, the additional space comes in handy for installing other components.

“This is a breakthrough for electric trucks and a clear signal that there will be a huge demand for public fast-chargers for heavy trucks in the near future, not the least along highways,” said Jessica Sandström, senio vice president Global Product Management at Volvo Trucks.

Volvo Trucks also said it will start serial production of cabover trucks with the new e-axle in a few years and it will complement the current line-up of battery electric trucks.

“We will continue with our versatile battery electric trucks that are already in production,” said Sandström. “They can currently cover a wide range of transport assignments. In a few years, we will add this new rear e-axle for customers covering longer routes than today.”

Volvo Trucks has a three-path strategy to reach zero emissions; battery electric, fuel cell electric and combustion engines that run on renewable fuels like biogas, HVO or even green hydrogen.

“Different technical solutions are needed to tackle climate change, since the availability of energy and fuel infrastructure differs between countries and regions and also between different transport assignments,” Sandström said.