DPD have recently announced that they have completed a series of engineering tests with the full-electric Volta Zero, as part of wider Beta Trials for the new, 16-tonne vehicle.
The Volta Zero is the world’s first purpose-built full-electric 16-tonne vehicle, designed for urban logistics. With an operating pure-electric range of 95 – 125 miles, the truck is designed to significantly reduce the environmental impact of freight deliveries in city centres.
The truck has also been designed from the ground-up with vehicle, driver and pedestrian safety in mind. The combination of a central driving position with a much lower seat height and the glass house-style cab design gives the driver a wide 220-degrees of visibility, minimising dangerous blind spots.
The Beta Trials are part of Volta’s Test and Development programme and a key step towards the start of customer Production in early 2023.
It was fantastic to get our hands on a Volta Zero and put it through its paces, with our own drivers alongside Volta Trucks’ engineers. We had the truck for five days and it is very impressive. The Beta Trials are an opportunity for us to test the vehicle first-hand, while helping Volta Trucks see exactly how it performs in real-life scenarios and on typical routes.
“Working with the Volta Trucks team in the cab gave us a great insight into what they are doing and how the truck could fit into the fleet. Increasingly we are operating in low or zero-emission zones in major cities, so with micro-depots and all-electric city centre van fleets we have already transformed our urban delivery strategy. But there is a real need for bigger, green vehicles that can fit into that strategy.
– Olly Craughan, Head of Sustainability, DPD
