Commercial EV manufacturer Volta Trucks and Petit Forestier Group, a European refrigeration rentals company, have partnered to develop a refrigerated battery-electric commercial vehicle.
Included in the multi-year deal is the Volta Zero, a 16-tonne zero-emission commercial vehicle designed for urban deliveries and operations. Petit Forestier Group has agreed to purchase 1,000 Volta Zeros to accelerate its transition towards cleaner energies and represents Volta Trucks’ largest sale to date.
Refrigerated versions of the fully-electric Volta Zero trucks will join Petit Forestier Group’s fleet of over 58,500 vehicles and will be equipped by Lecapitaine, Petit Forestier Group’s industrial subsidiary, which provides design and manufacture of refrigerated bodywork.
The Lecapitaine design office is currently working with Volta Trucks to ensure the integration of the box body and refrigeration unit, with the first refrigerated Volta Zero is due for user testing in 2021 ahead of the start of production in 2022. The industrial agreement also covers all refrigerated vehicles sold by Volta Trucks.
For Léonard Forestier, chief executive officer of Petit Forestier Group, said: “This partnership embodies our desire to significantly increase our pace in terms of innovation and energy transition of our fleet.
“We are taking action now to prepare for the future and to provide our customers with the best zero-emission refrigeration solutions, designed for their urban deliveries. We are delighted to work with the teams at Volta Trucks and to jointly help make our cities more pleasant.”
In addition to the acquisition of 1,000 vehicles, the partnership will also focus on the co-development of skills, in particular technical expertise in EV maintenance, to offer a full-service solution to end customers and facilitate and simplify the operational deployment of the trucks at Petit Forestier Group’s 280 branches.
