Volvo Trucks to start selling electric trucks in 2019

Volvo Trucks would start selling electric medium-duty trucks in Europe in 2019, the company said Tuesday in a statement.

"Electro mobility is fully in line with Volvo Truck's long term commitment for sustainable urban development and zero emissions," president of Volvo Trucks Claes Nilsson said.

Electric trucks drastically reduce noise and exhaust emissions and open up for new ways to manage logistics. More transport assignments can be carried out at night and fewer trucks need to compete for road space during rush-hour, the company said.

"Our technology and knowhow within electro mobility are based on proven commercial solutions already in use on Volvo's electric buses, and solutions that were introduced in Volvo's hybrid trucks as far back as 2010. The vehicles themselves are only one part of what is needed for large-scale electrification to succeed," said Jonas Odermalm, head of product strategy medium duty vehicles at Volvo Trucks.

"We believe in full electrification for urban distribution as a first step. However, we are working with electrification for other transport applications. This is only the beginning," Nilsson added.