Fifty million miles. Eighty million kilometers. Two thousand laps around Carl Sagan’s pale blue dot. However you measure it, there’s no denying it: Volvo Trucks have driven a whole lot of battery-electric miles!

Since Volvo Trucks began delivering its first generation of all-electric semi trucks to customers in 2019, the trucks have dramatically reduced fleets’ harmful carbon emissions, reduced their operating costs, and improved the working environment for drivers with smoother, quieter, and cleaner operation.

How much cleaner? Volvo claims that covering the same fifty million distance with equivalent diesel-powered trucks would have consumed more than 25 million liters of diesel fuel and more than 68,000 tons of carbon dioxide.

It pays off to be an early adopter – transport companies with electric trucks have a strong competitive advantage when being able to offer emission-free transport to transport buyers.

VOLVO TRUCKS

“I am happy to see how transport companies are embracing the benefits with electric trucks in daily operations,” says Roger Alm, President Volvo Trucks. “The transport sector represents 7% of global carbon emissions and battery-electric trucks is an important tool to reduce the climate footprint. Thanks to many early adopters we can already now see the huge potential with this technology.”

We’ve come a long way

Since 2019, Volvo Trucks’ global deliveries of electric trucks increased grew to 1,977 Class 8 trucks in 2023 (up 256% from the year before, and still growing, as the company sees continued interest from customers in 2024). In addition to sheer numbers, Volvo has market share. In Europe, more than 50% of electric truck buyers chose a Volvo during Q1 of ’24 – fully 56%, in fact, with a 44% share of electric trucks sold in the US, as well.

“Not only transport companies, but also buyers of transport – and logistic services are signing up to SBTi (Science Based Target initiative), and are starting to demand sustainable transport solutions from their providers,” says Alm, about the 3,500 electric Volvo semis sold in 45 countries (so far). “This is yet another driver of the shift to electric trucks.”

Electrek’s Take

I talked about the head start companies like Einride and Freightliner had in developing autonomous driving for commercial trucks even as companies like Walmart and McDonald’s are turning to Tesla’s competitors instead of waiting for its Semi in today’s episode of Quick Charge – and I didn’t need Reuters to tell me that.

That said, fifty million miles and five years is one heck of a head start.

SOURCES | IMAGES: Volvo Trucks, Reuters.