Volvo’s Electric Trucks Tested Under Extreme Winter Conditions

Batteries lose performance in cold weather, such as with mobile phones. To avoid this fate, Volvo Trucks has tested its electric trucks in extreme cold near the Arctic Circle. The result? A function that maintains battery performance even at temperatures well below freezing.

(Ismaning) “We have customers all over the world, and our trucks need to operate everywhere. Therefore, testing under adverse climatic conditions is essential, and this certainly applies to our electric vehicles as well,” says Jessica Sandström, SVP Product Management at Volvo Trucks.

What happens to a battery-powered truck when the thermometer shows -25° C and strong winds pick up? To find out, Volvo Trucks conducted winter tests in the far north of Sweden.

“In the practical testing of our trucks in northern Sweden near the Arctic Circle, we expose the vehicles to all conceivable adversities of nature,” Jessica Sandström continues. “The wind causes the vehicle to freeze from the outside, allowing us to verify that everything functions properly even under extreme conditions. Our tests have shown that our electric trucks are indeed suitable for operation in extreme cold conditions.”

Preheating or Pre-cooling the Cabin

A tangible result of the winter tests is the new function “Ready to Run,” which means “ready to drive.” Depending on the need, this function prepares the vehicle for the workday by preheating the batteries and the cabin or cooling it in very warm weather. The optimal temperature for batteries is around +25 °C, and the driver can conveniently start the preheating or pre-cooling via an app remotely.Electric trucks make an important contribution to reducing CO₂ emissions, but so far only a small portion of the total truck market consists of such vehicles. This year, only a few hundred fully electric heavy trucks have been delivered to European transport companies.

“We are driving the transition forward and taking a leading position in the European market for electric trucks. We are already producing electric trucks in series and supplying customers across Europe and North America. Our goal is that by 2030, around 50% of our sold trucks will be electric,” concludes Jessica Sandström.

The “Ready-to-Run” function will be available for the Volvo FH, FM, and FMX Electric models, which are used for regional freight transport and light construction work.

Facts about Volvo Trucks’ Electric Trucks:

• Volvo Trucks offers six fully electric trucks designed for a variety of transport tasks.
• The Volvo FH, FM, and FMX Electric models are heavy trucks with a permissible total weight of 44 tons. Sales in Europe are already underway, and production will start in the second half of 2022.
• Series production of the Volvo FL and FE Electric models for urban distribution and waste management began in Europe in 2019.
• Production of the Volvo VNR Electric for North America started in 2020.

Video/Photo: © Volvo Trucks