A successful 230 million euro Series C funding round will allow Volta Trucks to start series production of its 16-tonne fully electric Volta Zero at the end of 2022.
This latest capital raise will fund all the company’s engineering and business operations until after the start of series production and includes the completion of a fleet of design verification prototypes for engineering development and testing, as well as a fleet of product verification vehicles that will be evaluated by customers in London and Paris in mid-2022.
It will also fund the continued development of the recently confirmed 7.5 and 12-tonne full-electric Volta Zero derivatives, as well as prepare the company’s contract manufacturing facility in Steyr, Austria, to start production of customer vehicles by the end of the year.
During 2023, the company’s first year of series production, Volta Trucks has production plans for 5000 vehicles, increasing to 14,000 trucks in 2024 and up to 27,000 vehicles in 2025.
By this time, the company will be operational across Europe as well as the US, with a portfolio of four Volta Zero models in production, including 7.5, 12, 16 and 18-tonne variants.
Supporting these volume expectations are significant customer contracts, including the recent announcement of Europe’s largest order of full-electric trucks from DB Schenker. Europe’s premier land transport company has ordered 1470 vehicles, which followed refrigerated vehicle and container rental firm Petit Forestier’s order of 1000 Volta Zeros.
Volta Trucks’ order book is now more than 5000 vehicles, with an order value exceeding 1.2 billion euros.
“The successful and oversubscribed conclusion of our Series C funding round gives us a positive external validation of our journey,” Volta Trucks chief executive Essa Al-Saleh says.
“Closing of the Series C funding round, bringing 230 million euros into the company, gives us the financial runway to be able to deliver on all our goals as we transition from a start-up to a manufacturer of full-electric trucks.”
The Volta Zero is designed for urban logistics, reducing the environmental impact of freight deliveries in city centres, with 150-200km range.
A prototype was launched in September 2020 and the Volta Zero is expected to eliminate an estimated 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 by 2025.
