Volvo Trucks South Africa has confirmed that it will start delivering heavy electric trucks to its local customers next month.

In South Africa, these trucks fall within the extra-heavy commercial vehicle segment, which comprises trucks with gross vehicle mass ratings (GVM) exceeding 16.5 t.

“Although we are in the early stages of our electric truck journey here in South Africa, our staff and dealers are carefully trained and prepared for this new technology, enabling us to efficiently support our customers as more and more fleets move to sustainable transport solutions,” says Volvo Trucks South Africa MD Waldemar Christensen.

“There are, of course, some infrastructural and legislative obstacles to overcome, but, together with our customers and other stakeholders, we are working hard to ensure the success and longevity of heavy electric trucks in South Africa.”

Volvo Trucks has sold more than 4 300 electric trucks globally in more than 38 countries since 2019, when production of these units started.

The Swedish manufacturer is the market leader in Europe, with a 32% share of the market for heavy electric trucks.

The European market for heavy electric trucks grew by 200% last year, to 1 041 trucks.

In North America, nearly half of all heavy electric trucks registered last year were Volvo trucks.

“We are determined to lead the electric truck transformation and our market-leading position in 2022, not only in Europe, but also in North America and other markets, is proof that we are doing just that,” says Volvo Trucks president Roger Alm.

“Although the market for electric trucks is still small, the trend is clear – many of our customers are now starting their shift to electric.

“We intend to be the catalyst for this transition and aim for 50% of our global sales of new trucks to be electric in 2030.”

Volvo Trucks currently offers six electric product ranges in series production, catering for a variety of uses.

“We now have a product portfolio that can cover most types of transportation for all kinds of customers,” says Alm.

“Looking at the goods flow patterns, it’s possible to electrify nearly half of all transports with our line-up of electric trucks.”