Volta Trucks, the leading full-electric commercial vehicle manufacturer, has confirmed that Urby has joined its Pioneer Programme, giving Urby access to an early trial of the Volta Zero and prioritised vehicle production once manufacturing starts in late 2022. The Volta Zero is the first purpose-built full-electric large commercial vehicle, and the announcement coincideswith the vehicle’s French debut at a series of customer events in Paris.
Urby is a subsidiary of the La Poste group and the Banque des Territoires and was created in 2018. Urby is present in 19 French cities and offers urban delivery and goods collection services as well as storage and collection of waste and packaging. To facilitate its operations, Urby has developed a strategic territorial network to cover high-density areas using two distribution approaches – pooling centres located on the outskirts of cities, and Urban Logistics Spaces in city centres.
Urby currently runs its city-centre logistics operations with a fleet of low-emission vehicles including electric cars, natural gas commercial vehicles and cargo bikes. Volta Trucks andUrby will also work collaboratively on the trial with Sogaris, one of Greater Paris’ largest urban logistics real estate owners. Sogaris provides Urby’s distribution centre facilities in the Ile de France area and will support the trial with the installation of the electric charging infrastructure needed to run the Volta Zero vehicles.
Under current legislation, internal combustion engine commercial vehicles will be banned from operating in Paris and all French cities of more than 150,000 residents from 2024 as the country adopts new Low Emissions Zones. This makes the acceleration of fleet electrification of paramount importance to all French fleet operators.
Announcing the trial of the Volta Zero, Frédéric Delaval, General Manager of Urby, said;
“Thanks to its large load capacity and all-electric mode, the Volta Zero is an essential partner in the innovative heavy goods vehicle market. We know that the future of delivery will be green. Urby is investing heavily in a fleet with low emissions, from cargo bikes with trailers to heavy goods vehicles with NGV / Bio NGV and electric energy. We also believe in true product circularity: when a vehicle delivers to an urban area, it must not come out empty, but full of products or recycling in return. Testing the Volta Zero in a real situation allows us to contribute to this visionary project and fully meet our sustainability ambitions.”
Sonia Samadi, Director of Development and Innovation for Sogaris continued;
” Sogaris operates at the crossroads of two worlds. That of real estate, challenged to invent a moreresilient and sustainable model over the long term in response to environmental issues, and that of urban logistics, where the digital revolution, driven by the increase of e-commerce, is radically transforming our relationship with the mobility of goods and our lifestyles, and for which the energy transition of our customers in favour of low-carbon logistics is becoming a priority innovation issue.”.”
Chief Executive Officer of Volta Trucks, Rob Fowler, added;
““I’m delighted to partner with Urby, supporting their sustainable decarbonisation agenda. With their city centre logistics and distribution focus, Urby are a perfect customer for the Volta Zero, and exactly the sort of operations that the vehicle was designed for. We also share very strong sustainability ambitions, so I look forward to understanding the feedback from their trials later in the year.””
Ends.
Editor’s notes.
Any potential customers wishing to arrange a private viewing of the Volta Zero should contact Volta Trucks’ Business Development Manager, Carla Detrieux
Any journalists wishing to view the Volta Zero while in France should contact the Volta Trucks PR and Communications agency in France, MDScom
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, driver 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 prototype Volta Zero was launched in September 2020, with the first vehicles expected to be operating with customers in late 2021.
About Volta Trucks.
Volta Trucks is a start-up full-electric goods vehicle manufacturer and services company. Volta Trucks has offices in Sweden, France and the UK and is partnering with a number of global leaders in the supply chain for the development and production of the Volta Zero.
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
Volta Trucks PR agency in France.
Michaela Demissy or Audrey Puig Sokol – MDS COM
T: +33(0)1 60 84 53 92 –
E: infopresse@mdscom.fr
Press Contact for Urby.
Julien ELOY – Agency WEPA
T: 06 63 01 13 76 –
E: julien.eloy@agencewepa.com