Volta Trucks has confirmed that the first Volta Zero vehicle has been completed at the company’s contract manufacturing facility in Steyr, Austria. The landmark vehicle, the first of a series of second-generation ‘Production Verification’ prototypes, will form part of a Pilot Fleet of trucks. These will be loaned to customers for extended periods in late 2022 and early 2023 to allow fleet operators to understand how the first purpose-built full-electric medium duty commercial vehicle will integrate into their operations. The start of series production of customer specification vehicles is on track to start in early 2023.
Volta Trucks’ contract manufacturing facility is run by Steyr Automotive, formerly MAN Truck and Bus Austria. Steyr Automotive was appointed in August 2021 following an extensive tender and based on their long experience of commercial vehicle manufacturing, existing infrastructure, and consequent speed to market. Steyr Automotive offers Volta Trucks more than 100 years of manufacturing experience building large commercial vehicles.
Steyr Automotive has reserved a capacity of 14,000 vehicles per year for Volta Trucks from their total available production. Over time, manufacturing the Volta Zero will create 510 jobs, plus 180 jobs in the building of the cargo boxes, in addition to an estimated 2,000 positions within the supply chain. The manufacturing contract has a value of up to €1 billion over its lifetime.