Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - August 2023 - 29

ELECTRIFICATION FEATURE
Volta Trucks CEO
Essa Al-Saleh.
" To get to the cost targets
that we need to get to,
to make it even more
competitive without
subsidies, we need to
build scale. You can't build
a business by taking half
measures. "
Both the Class 6 and 7 versions of the Volta Zero use a 225-kWh battery
for a maximum range of 125 miles (200 km).
procurement are core competencies for a company like ours.
Many people tend to focus on the technology, but there's a
fundamental supply-chain execution piece, and I think this is
something we've strategically invested in as a company. "
That's Volta's big plan. If it works out, the company will be
well-positioned for what Al-Saleh expects to be a large electrified
commercial-vehicle market in the U.S.
" We want to apply the lessons we learned in Europe but
recognize that the U.S. is slightly different, " he said. " Although
Europe is probably getting faster to electrification than the
U.S., the U.S. is much bigger and will accelerate much faster in
many ways. "
Volta saw an opportunity to rethink the design of the truck to impact
safety and driver comfort.
to produce the truck in volume. Al-Saleh said it would be able
to build 14,000 trucks a year in Europe at full production. This
will be the initial source for the trucks sold in the U.S.
Later, Volta will export semi-knocked-down (SKD) kits from
Europe to the U.S. for assembly and, ultimately, Volta plans to
produce vehicles in the U.S. starting in 2026. By 2027, Al-Saleh
said, Volta could build another 14,000 vehicles annually in the U.S.
" We're building this business to scale, " he said. " Why is
[14,000 trucks a year] important? Because to get to the cost
targets that we need to get to, to make it even more competitive
without subsidies, we need to build scale. You can't build a
business by taking half measures. "
Volta Trucks' short history proves that the company moves
quickly. It was founded in 2019 and spent the pandemic's disruption
in a pure development phase, which meant the team
could plan for its start of production with plenty of lead time
to get partners and suppliers ready.
" There's a bit of good timing, luck and all that, " Al-Saleh said.
" But luck is the intersection of two things, right? A lot of hard
work with the right opportunity. The opportunity came, so we
were lucky in that sense. But we believe logistics, sourcing and
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
August 2023 29
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Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - August 2023

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