Following today’s announcement by the UK Government to bring forward the ban on the sale of petrol and diesel-powered cars and vans to 2030, Chief Executive Officer of Volta Trucks, Rob Fowler, said;
“At Volta Trucks, we welcome today’s announcement by the UK Government to ban the sale of internal combustion engine cars and vans by 2030, and the ambitious plan to implement the world’s second most stringent timeline, after Norway. However, we are disappointed that there is no mention in the proposals for the ban to extend to large commercial vehicles. Legacy internal combustion engine trucks are a disproportionately large contributor to greenhouse gasses and air pollution that’s proven to be a significant contributor to many thousands of premature deaths every year in our major towns and cities, where air quality is at its worst.”
“Governments and legislators need to take a holistic approach to the climate change emergency we face and remove all polluting vehicles from our roads. Commercial vehicles form the lifeblood of city centre commerce, so society needs goods vehicles, but it also needs good vehicles: vehicles that are zero emissions. I therefore call on the UK Government to apply the same levels of decarbonisation ambition for commercial vehicles as has been announced today with passenger cars and vans. As a company that is founded on the principle of accelerating change, the transition away from fossil fuels cannot come soon enough, to improve the air quality and environment for all of us.”
Ends.
Editor’s notes.
About the Volta Zero.
The Volta Zero is the world’s first purpose-built full-electric 16-tonne vehicle designed for inner-city freight deliveries, reducing the environmental impact of freight deliveries in city centres. Designed from the ground up with an operating pure-electric range of 150 – 200 kms (95 – 125 miles), the Volta Zero will eliminate an estimated 180,000 tonnes of CO 2 by 2025.
Safety is also at the heart of Volta Trucks, with its ambition of being the safest large commercial vehicle manufacturer. The Volta Zero was designed for electric from the outset, which facilitates a step-change in vehicle and pedestrian safety. Thanks to the removal of the internal combustion engine, the operator of a Volta Zero sits in a central driving position, with a much lower seat height than a conventional truck. This combination, plus a glass house-style cab design, gives the driver a wide 220-degrees of visibility, minimising dangerous blind spots.
The first prototype Volta Zero was launched in September 2020, with the first pilot test vehicles due to start evaluation with customers in Q3-2021.
About Volta Trucks.
Volta Trucks is a start-up full-electric goods vehicle manufacturer and services company. Volta Trucks has offices in the UK and Sweden and has partnered with a number of industry- leading design and engineering companies to develop the Zero, including Prodrive, Astheimer and Magtec.
For further information, please contact:
Duncan Forrester
Public Relations and Communications consultant
T: 00 44 7768 877877
Ade Thomas
Social Media and Sustainability Communications consultant
T: 00 44 7802 875710
E: press@voltatrucks.com