Click to Enlarge.
Volta Trucks has started production of the first road-going ‘Design Verification’ (DV) prototype Volta Zero* vehicle in Coventry, UK. The DV prototypes are the first full-electric Volta Zero commercial vehicles to be built in a production-ready design. A total of 25 vehicles will be manufactured.
When completed in January, the fleet will start a testing scheme. This will involve Volta Trucks engineers replicating a wide range of customer usage and delivery cycles, as well as taking the Volta Zero to the extremes of cold weather environments in the Arctic, hot weather in equatorial conditions, and crash testing,. This according to Volta will validate the safety, durability, and reliability of the vehicle. (Volta Trucks Fully-Electric Commercial Zero to Debut in Italy; Solid Power – More Money from BMW, Ford, Volta Energy Technologies for Solid-State EV Batteries)
The results of the DV testing program will be fed into the final prototype stage – ‘Production Verification’ (PV). The PV prototype vehicles will be built at the company’s new manufacturing plant in Steyr, Austria, in mid-2022. “Many of these production-specification prototypes will be lent to selected customers for extended periods to be tested in their real-world logistics conditions, undertaking millions of delivery kilometers, alongside Volta Trucks’ own engineers,” the startup company said.
“This is going to be far more condensed and intensive than a normal vehicle testing program, given our ambitious timeline to start series production in a year’s time, which is driven by customers’ needs for zero-emission trucks. This will take us to some of the hottest, coldest and most extreme conditions in the world, all to ensure that the production specification vehicles that roll off the production line by the end of 2022 deliver the highest possible quality standards and exceed our customers’ expectations,” said Ian Collins, Chief Product Officer of Volta Trucks.
*Volta Zero.
The Volta Zero claims to be the world’s first purpose-built full-electric 16-ton vehicle designed for inner-city logistics, reducing the environmental impact of freight deliveries in city centers. Designed from the ground up with an operating pure-electric range of 150 – 200 kms (95 – 125 miles), the Volta Zero will eliminate an estimated 1.2 million tons of CO2 by 2025, Volta claims.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Production Starts on Prototype Volta Electric Truck
Click to Enlarge.
Volta Trucks has started production of the first road-going ‘Design Verification’ (DV) prototype Volta Zero* vehicle in Coventry, UK. The DV prototypes are the first full-electric Volta Zero commercial vehicles to be built in a production-ready design. A total of 25 vehicles will be manufactured.
When completed in January, the fleet will start a testing scheme. This will involve Volta Trucks engineers replicating a wide range of customer usage and delivery cycles, as well as taking the Volta Zero to the extremes of cold weather environments in the Arctic, hot weather in equatorial conditions, and crash testing,. This according to Volta will validate the safety, durability, and reliability of the vehicle. (Volta Trucks Fully-Electric Commercial Zero to Debut in Italy; Solid Power – More Money from BMW, Ford, Volta Energy Technologies for Solid-State EV Batteries)
The results of the DV testing program will be fed into the final prototype stage – ‘Production Verification’ (PV). The PV prototype vehicles will be built at the company’s new manufacturing plant in Steyr, Austria, in mid-2022. “Many of these production-specification prototypes will be lent to selected customers for extended periods to be tested in their real-world logistics conditions, undertaking millions of delivery kilometers, alongside Volta Trucks’ own engineers,” the startup company said.
“This is going to be far more condensed and intensive than a normal vehicle testing program, given our ambitious timeline to start series production in a year’s time, which is driven by customers’ needs for zero-emission trucks. This will take us to some of the hottest, coldest and most extreme conditions in the world, all to ensure that the production specification vehicles that roll off the production line by the end of 2022 deliver the highest possible quality standards and exceed our customers’ expectations,” said Ian Collins, Chief Product Officer of Volta Trucks.
*Volta Zero.
The Volta Zero claims to be the world’s first purpose-built full-electric 16-ton vehicle designed for inner-city logistics, reducing the environmental impact of freight deliveries in city centers. Designed from the ground up with an operating pure-electric range of 150 – 200 kms (95 – 125 miles), the Volta Zero will eliminate an estimated 1.2 million tons of CO2 by 2025, Volta claims.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.