DB Schenker intends to resume road tests of the Volta Zero

DB Schenker may be reknitting the thread that had been broken with Volta Trucks, following a pre-order for 1,500 Volta Zero electric trucks dating back to 2021, prior to the notorious vicissitudes affecting the then-Swedish electric truck manufacturer. The latter recently returned to the headlines after news of a restart.

DB Schenker official statement about the collaboration with Volta Commercial Vehicles

The pre-order settlement, of course, had been followed by the usual road tests, which were rated as very positive by DB Schenker. A spokesperson from the German company let us know that “Volta has been part of DB Schenker’s innovation and development journey since 2021. In 2023 we conducted several pilot tests across Europe. The outcome of that was very promising and we see the truck concept still as a potential game changer for the last mile delivery. Beyond its full electric drive which reduces local emissions to zero, the truck increases the safety for drivers as well as for other road users and pedestrians thanks to the central driving position with a much lower seat height than a conventional truck, and a panoramic field of visibility”.

“After filing for bankruptcy in October 2023”, the spokespersone continued, “the Volta Management together with the Administrator has been able to find a buyer for the business of Volta Trucks: Luxor Capital, a US based investment group. According to the management, Volta and Luxor are currently in a restructuring process of the company and aim to re-start the serial production in the 2nd half of 2024. DB Schenker is in an intensive exchange with Volta and Luxor to take up the pre-series tests again and onboard the first serial vehicles as soon as possible”.

E-truck order not officially confirmed

So, no confirmation about the 1,500-vehicle order placed just under three years ago, but a concrete expression of interest in the e-truck manufacturer, and especially the vehicle. What was once called Volta Trucks and is now formally reborn under the name Volta Commercial Vehicles will soon resume production of the Volta Zero, the newly developed 16-ton electric truck, at the Steyr, Austria, manufacturing plant owned by Steyr Automotive.

The batteries installed on the Volta Zero are still expected to come from Proterra, whose problems were behind the failure of the original Volta Trucks project. Meanwhile, the American battery manufacturer has been taken over by the Volvo Group.