Based in Sweden, with major operations getting underway in both France and the United Kingdom, Volta Trucks is an ambitious startup designing fully electric rigs intended for larger-scale delivery use in congested cities. Replacing the conventional diesel engine and transmission allows the chauffeur of the Volta Zero truck, with its 16-ton loaded capacity, to sitting centrally in the cab and much lower than in an oil-consuming rig. Last week, the Volta Zero truck made its debut on the streets of Paris – anyone who’s driven there, such as yours truly, fully understands the hassle that can entail – teamed up with Swoopin, the globally oriented provider of urban-based transportation and logistics services, at a four-week run of customer and supplier events around the City of Light.
Swoopin has added the Volta Zero to its solutions for local deliveries that also include electric vans, cars and e-bikes, supporting the network of last-mile distribution hubs that Swoopin is establishing around Paris. Currently existing law calls for all commercial vehicles powered by internal combustion engines to be prohibited from Paris within two years. The government of France is offering fleet operators incentives of up to 50,000 euros to transition to zero-emissions vehicles for making local deliveries. The Volta Zero/Swoopin evaluation will continue through the end of this month.
Jim Donnelly On Wheels 