Volvo has said repeatedly that its all-new VNL Class 8 tractor, introduced earlier this year, will be its platform for all new technologies going forward. And at the end of a deep-dive briefing of the new VNL at the Volvo Customer Center in Dublin, Virginia, the OEM confirmed that philosophy.
Wrapping up the two-day event, Magnus Koeck, vice president of strategy, branding and marketing for Volvo Trucks North America, told attendees that, “Volvo doesn’t just talk the talk. Volvo walks the walk.”
With those words, Koeck withdrew from the stage as a partition behind him rose to reveal a sneak-peek of a brand-new Volvo VNL Electric truck.
Few details on the new truck were given. And a closeup inspection of the new truck wasn’t allowed. But Koeck did say the new Class 8 electric truck would be launched sometime in 2025.
The new VNL was unveiled earlier this year. At the time, Volvo said the all-new Volvo VNL would be the platform for all the company's upcoming technologies, including future transportation solutions such as autonomous trucks, battery-electric, fuel cell electric, and internal combustion engines running on renewable fuels including hydrogen.
The VNR Electric
Volvo already has been piloting and selling its VNR Electric for regional-haul operations since 2020.
The Volvo VNR Electric, built on Volvo’s regional truck platform, was first announced back in 2018, with a targeted production date of 2020. By 2019 it was offering a sneak-peek of the truck, and in 2020 it deployed its first pilot VNR Electric truck in Southern California as part of the Volvo LIGHTS (Low Impact Green Heavy Transport Solutions) project.
Volvo started production of the VNR Electric in early 2021.
The next year, the company started offering a next-generation version of the VNR Electric, with more batteries for longer range.
