Volvo’s FH Electric range has been voted International Truck of the Year 2024, marking a significant milestone as the first electric truck to win the prestigious award.
The voting was carried out by a jury of 24 commercial vehicle editors and senior journalists representing 24 major trucking magazines throughout Europe.
Volvo Trucks president Roger Alm was presented with the award during the press day of Solutrans, the biennial trade fair for haulage and urban transport professionals, in Lyon, France.
Alm praised the “great teamwork” of his Volvo colleagues and close cooperation with customers, partners and suppliers.
“Volvo FH is one of the industry’s most successful models ever, with nearly 1.4 million trucks sold all over the world. In September last year, we started series production of our heavy duty electric FH- and FM-range, as the first global manufacturer to do so.
“Thanks to our forward-leaning customers, we have 50% market share of the electric truck market in Europe.
“I am so very proud of this recognition that our Volvo FH Electric has won this highly respected award. For me, Volvo FH Electric represents a new era of trucking,” Alm said.
With a winning score of 84 votes, the Swedish truck manufacturer’s heavy-duty electric range fought off tough challenges from Mercedes-Benz’s eActros 300/400, equipped with an electric driveline, and the Scania’s 45S battery electric truck.
This judgment relies on several criteria, including technological innovation, comfort, safety, driveability, energy efficiency, environmental ‘footprint,’ and total cost of ownership.
As well as being the first electric truck in series production to win the prize (with the awards dating back to 1977), there were also four battery-electric models out of five on this year’s International Truck of the Year (IToY) shortlist.
“It’s proof that the energy transition is gaining momentum in the transportation sector, even though a suitable enabling ecosystem for BEV is still not in place in the EU,” IToY said.
The IToY journalists praised the “performance, the seamless acceleration, the quietness, and the vibration-free behaviour of the highly efficient electric powertrain of the FH Electric”.
Based on two or three electric machines of 330kW or 490kW continuous power, coupled with the latest generation I-Shift gearbox.
Equally crucial in the winning score of FH Electric for regional cargo transport was the vast offer of axle configurations for tractors and rigids, the availability of four cab versions, and the modular portfolio of battery packs – from two to six – according to the transport mission requirements.
Summing up the jury vote, IToY chairman Gianenrico Griffini commented: “With the introduction of the FH Electric Volvo Trucks has delivered a state-of-the-art BEV range, suitable for a wide array of transport operations. It’s proof that energy transition is gaining strength even in today’s challenging business environment.”
