Electric commercial vehicle manufacturer Volta Trucks has confirmed its first Volta Zero vehicles will be manufactured in Steyr, Austria by Steyr Automotive, formerly MAN Trucks, and Bus Austria.
The announcement follows a wide-ranging tender process with potential suppliers from across Europe. Steyr Automotive were appointed based on their extensive experience of commercial vehicle manufacturing, existing manufacturing infrastructure and consequent speed to market, according to Volta Trucks.
The company expects to start series production in late 2022, following customer trials of pilot fleet vehicles that will commence in the middle of next year.
Confirming the announcement, co-Founder and chief technology officer of Volta Trucks, Kjell Waloen, said: “The partnership with Steyr Automotive marks a significant milestone for Volta Trucks, and one of the important milestones ahead of us starting to build full electric trucks by the end of 2022.
“The team at Steyr Automotive has demonstrable capability to manufacture the Volta Zero with decades of previous premium truck-building experience. Building our trucks in Austria, in the heart of our European launch region, will accelerate our time to market and minimise the environmental footprint of our operations, supporting our sustainability ambitions – a key factor in our decision-making process.
“The partnership will now allow Volta Trucks to quickly ramp up our production as we look to meet the demands of our customers who need to replace their fleets with zero emission vehicles as soon as possible.”
The confirmation of the manufacturing partner forms a part of the Volta Trucks Road-to-Zero Emissions strategy, released in May. The strategy sees four Volta Zero models ranging from 7.5 to 19 tonnes, with more than 27,000 units built per year by 2025.
London and Paris have been identified as the initial launch cities. The manufacturer added an Europe-first city-specific roll out strategy, with the plant in Austria perfectly situated close to the initial markets, supports its accelerated roll-out of full-electric commercial vehicles to customers.
Siegfried Wolf, chairman of the board at Steyr Automotive, added: “We are very pleased and excited that Volta Trucks selected Steyr Automotive for the manufacturing for the new electric Volta Zero. With the expertise and experience of our team in Steyr, we are looking forward to a long-lasting successful partnership with Volta Trucks.”
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