Volvo Trucks will start delivering heavy electric trucks in South Africa from May 2023.
In 2022, the market for heavy electric trucks in Europe grew by 200%, and there’s faith that South Africa will see a similar boom.
In South Africa, the new heavy electric trucks fall within the extra heavy commercial vehicle segment. This classification comprises trucks with gross vehicle weight ratings (GVM) exceeding 16.5 tonnes.
“Although we are in the early stages of our electric truck journey here in South Africa, our staff and dealers are fully trained and prepared for this new technology, enabling us to efficiently support our customers as more and more fleets move to sustainable transport solutions,” says Waldemar Christensen, MD of Volvo Trucks South Africa.
“There are of course some infrastructural and legislative obstacles to overcome, but together with our customers and other stakeholders, we are working hard to ensure the success and longevity of heavy electric trucks in South Africa.”
“We are determined to lead the electric truck transformation and our market leading position in 2022, not only in Europe, but also in North America and other markets, is proof that we are doing just that. Although, the market for electric trucks is still small, the trend is clear: many of our customers are now starting their shift to electric. We intend to be the catalyst for this transition and aim for 50% of our global sales of new trucks to be electric in 2030,” says Roger Alm, President of Volvo Trucks.
Volvo Trucks currently offers the industry´s broadest product line-up with six product ranges in series production, catering to a very wide variety of transports in and between cities.
"We now have a product portfolio that can cover most types of transportation for all kinds of customers. Looking at the goods flow patterns, it’s possible to electrify nearly half of all transports with our line-up of electric trucks," comments Roger Alm. “We see it as our mission to support our customers in making that happen.”
