An electric truck is the best truck in Europe for the first time.
Volvo Truck’s heavy-duty FH Electric recently secured the prestigious title of International Truck of the Year for 2024 in a ceremony held during the Solutrans Transport Exhibition in Lyon, France, with voters praising the electric truck’s “performance, seamless acceleration, quietness, and vibration-free behavior.”
“With the introduction of the FH Electric, Volvo Trucks has delivered a state-of-the-art battery electric vehicle range, suitable for a wide array of transport operations,” Gianenrico Griffini, International Truck of the Year chairman, said in a news release. “It’s proof that the energy transition is gaining strength even in today’s challenging business environment.”
Roger Alm, president of Volvo Trucks, accepted the award Nov. 22 in France.
“I am so very proud of this recognition that our Volvo FH Electric has won this highly respected award,” Alm said. “For the first time in history the transport industry has chosen an electric vehicle as Truck of the Year. The Volvo FH Electric represents a new era in trucking and winning this award clearly shows that the shift to zero emission transport is happening here and now.
“I sincerely want to thank everyone who has contributed to this success. It’s based on great teamwork with passion and dedication among our fantastic colleagues within the Volvo Group, and close cooperation with our valued customers, partners, and suppliers.”
The FH Electric can operate at a total of 44 tonnes (48.5 U.S. tons). Production of the FH Electric started in 2022 in Volvo’s factory in Gothenburg, Sweden; and production in the factory in Ghent, Belgium began in 2023.
Volvo Trucks was the first global manufacturer to start series production of electric trucks in 2019, and today it has a broad electric lineup with a total of six electric trucks designed to handle a variety of transport assignments, the company reported.