Volvo Trucks Gent presents Belgium's first electric truck

The first Belgian-made heavy-duty electric truck has been unveiled at Volvo Trucks' Ghent plant. Katoen Natie, a Belgian company with worldwide operations, has bought the e-truck.

Wednesday morning, the first Volvo FH Electric with a range of 300 kilometres and a total load of 44 tonnes left the factory. "This is a milestone for Flanders," said Flemish Mobility minister Lydia Peeters (Open VLD).

The Flemish government supports the production with a strategic grant of around 470,000 euros. "Thanks to the Ghent plant, we are putting our region on the map regarding electric truck production. This reaffirms my belief in the future of our mobility, which will soon be completely emission-free".

Additional jobs

The truck manufacturer will also start building battery modules. A new logistics centre will be built at the Oostakker site in 2024 to store the extra parts for the electric trucks. Volvo plant manager Koen Leemans says producing electric trucks and their batteries will create at least 100 additional jobs by 2025.

The first e-truck will go to Katoen Natie, which will use it to shuttle between its warehouse on the outskirts of Antwerp and the site of Swedish compressor manufacturer Atlas Copco, also in the Antwerp district. At the same time, Katoen Natie signed a letter of intent for the purchase of a further 20 e-trucks.

The number of electric trucks on the roads in Europe and the United States is growing faster than ever

A standard Volvo electric truck costs around 350,000 euros. This is more than double the cost of a diesel truck. However, a Flemish subsidy of 40 per cent of the extra expense and lower operating costs offset this.

The number of electric trucks on the roads in Europe and the United States is growing faster than ever. Volvo Trucks has sold over 4,300 electric trucks in more than 38 countries worldwide. In Europe, Volvo Trucks is the market leader with a 32 per cent share of the heavy-duty electric truck market. In North America, almost half of all heavy-duty electric trucks registered in 2022 are Volvo trucks.

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