Volvo Trucks has kept its spot on the top of the heavy electric trucks market after the first quarter of 2023, both in Europe and in North America.

The Swedish truck manufacturer has sold almost 5000 electric trucks in about 40 countries. Now, its electric product range is being made available in South Africa, South Korea, India and markets in Latin America.

During the first quarter of 2023, a total of 600 electric trucks weighing 16 tonnes and more were registered in Europe – more than four times compared to the same period in 2022 (134). Volvo Trucks has the largest market share of this at 50%, an increase compared to 2022, when the company’s market share for the full year was 32%.

Volvo Trucks also maintains a leading position in North America, with nearly half of the heavy electric truck market.

“Our commitment to sustainable transport is clearly paying off. We are determined to work closely together with our customers to decarbonize truck transport,” said Roger Alm, President of Volvo Trucks.

The markets with the most electric trucks registered overall (including all brands) during the first quarter of 2023 were Germany, France, the Netherlands and the US.

Volvo Trucks saw a strong increase in new truck orders during the first quarter of 2023. A total of 486 electric trucks were ordered, which is an increase of 141% compared to the same period in 2022. Most of these orders came from countries in the northern part of Europe, including the Netherlands, Germany, Norway and Sweden.

Last year, Volvo added the three 44-tonne heavy-duty trucks to its electric lineup: the Volvo FH, the Volvo FM, and the Volvo FMX. With these new additions, Volvo Trucks has six electric truck models in series production.

Currently, Volvo Trucks is scaling up production of electric trucks at three plants: in Gothenburg, Sweden; in Blainville, France; and in New River Valley, US. In the third quarter of 2023, serial production will also start at Volvo’s largest factory in Ghent, Belgium.

Charging infrastructure required

Thousands of public charging points for heavy trucks will be needed to scale up the volumes of electric trucks. Volvo Group will, together with Daimler and Traton, build at least 1700 high-performance green energy public chargers all around Europe. The group is also investing in a charging corridor in North America.

Volvo Trucks is aiming for 50% of global sales of new trucks to be electric in 2030, and 100% to be net-zero emission by 2040.