Volta Trucks has unveiled the Volta Zero, a zero-emissions electric cargo delivery vehicle built for use in the city.
According to Volta Trucks' founder Carl-Magnus Norden in a statement, the current widely used large commercial delivery trucks are dangerous: in London, 23% and 58% of pedestrian and cyclist deaths, respectively, are related to "large good vehicles" despite its low usage compared to other vehicles, such as daily drivers and public transport.
Now, the company is hoping to make a change in the commercial cargo delivery segment by making the vehicles safer, which will be done in part by implementing a different layout in the cab and new systems that will increase the drivers' awareness of their surroundings.
However, safety isn't Volta Trucks' only goal with the Volta Zero. The company is also taking a green approach to its new release by electrifying the fleets and using sustainable building materials, specifically flax and rapeseed oil-sourced resin, on the exterior body panels.
According to the Sweden-based company, this use of flax and resin on the body will be an industry first when the Volta Zero hits the production line in 2022.
"To me, it's so obvious that this is the right thing to do," Volta Trucks founder Carl-Magnus Norden told Business Insider in an interview in February. "The industry is acting very slowly. Everybody is talking about 2030, 2040, but nobody feels the urge to do anything today."
The new vehicle will also be a world's first in its own right. According to Volta Trucks, the Volta Zero will be the first fully electric 17.64-ton commercial vehicle built with the intention of delivering cargo and freight within an urban environment.