Volvo Trucks says it is leading the market for heavy electric trucks in Europe and in North America after the first quarter of 2023. In total, the Swedish truck manufacturer has sold almost 5,000 electric trucks in around 40 countries.

Now, its electric product range is being made available in new markets in Asia, Latin America and Africa.

During the first quarter of this year, a total of 600 electric trucks weighing 16 tons and more were registered in Europe by all manufacturers, more than four times the number for the same period in 2022 (134). Volvo Trucks has the largest market share of this at 50%: an increase compared to 2022, when the company’s market share for the full year was 32%.

Volvo Trucks also maintains a leading position in North America, with nearly half of the heavy electric truck market.

Roger Alm, President of Volvo Trucks said, “Our commitment to sustainable transport is clearly paying off. We are determined to work closely together with our customers to decarbonise truck transport.”

The markets with most electric trucks registered overall (including all brands) during the first quarter of 2023 were Germany, France, the Netherlands and the US.

Six electric models

Last year, Volvo added the three most popular 44-ton heavy-duty trucks to its electric lineup: the Volvo FH, the Volvo FM, and the Volvo FMX. With these new additions, Volvo Trucks has six electric truck models in series production, giving it the industry’s most extensive portfolio of zero exhaust emission trucks.

Charging infrastructure required

Thousands of public charging points for heavy trucks will be needed to scale up the volumes of electric trucks. Volvo Group, together with Daimler and Traton, has committed to build at least 1,700 high-performance green energy public chargers all around Europe. The group is also investing in a charging corridor in North America.

Volvo Trucks is aiming for 50% of global sales of new trucks to be electric in 2030, and 100% to be net-zero emission by 2040.

Photos: Roger Alm, President of Volvo Trucks; the Volvo FM Electric truck.