After recently kicking off series production in Europe, Volta Trucks is making moves across the pond as it looks to launch its commercial EVs in the US later this year. Today, the startup has announced EAVX will help design custom truck bodies for the Zero trucks ahead of full production.
Volta Trucks is a London-based commercial EV startup that is less than four years old yet sits on the cusp of deliveries of its flagship commercial truck, the Volta Zero.
This past March, Volta relayed it had received official certification for European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA) – which will allow the startup to sell its electric trucks overseas as soon as production begins.
In mid-April, the startup announced that Volta Zero series production was officially underway in Austria ahead of validation testing, EU deliveries, and eventually US manufacturing as well.
Today, Volta shared details of a pilot fleet program in the US using Zero trucks equipped with custom bodies from JB Poindexter & Co. subsidiary, EAVX.
Volta Trucks to launch US pilot program in late 2023
The commercial EV developer recently shared intentions to launch a pilot program later this year that will feature its Zero trucks fitted with customized bodies from EAVX. The latter intends to utilize its manufacturing expertise and its parent company’s market knowledge to develop, prototype, and produce the vehicle bodies for US versions of the Zero Trucks.
Volta CEO Essa Al-Saleh spoke to the newly announced partnership:
We are delighted to be partnering with EAVX to bring our Pilot Fleet of electric trucks to the US market. EAVX has a proven track record of designing and engineering innovative mobility solutions and we believe their expertise will be invaluable in creating the optimal cargo body for our trucks. We will take the steps now to ensure the flexibility of our vehicle offering and in turn, meet wider US customer demand, all ensuring the Volta Zero is a stand-out proposition for the important US market.
Volta’s pilot EVs will initially roll out to fleet customers under a new “Driving Experience Program,” in which operators will test out the technology in real distribution environments to best determine how the EVs can optimally integrate into existing operations. The company already has several of these programs underway in Europe but is now setting its sights on the US market with the help of EAVX.
Looking ahead, Volta Trucks says the Driving Experience Program will begin on the west coast in late 2023, followed by scaled US production sometime in 2024.
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