FH Electric wins International Truck of The Year

December 13, 2023

Volvo Trucks’ FH Electric range has been elected International Truck of the Year 2024. It is the first time an electric truck has won this accolade!

Roger Alm, president of Volvo Trucks, was presented with the prestigious award in Lyon, France, during the press day of Solutrans, the biennial trade fair for haulage and urban transport professionals.

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 Scania’s 45S battery electric truck (BEV).

Volvo Trucks officially opened the order system for its heavy-duty electric truck range – the Volvo FH, Volvo FM and Volvo FMX – in May last year. At the time, the electric versions of Volvo’s medium-duty FE, FL, and VNR trucks were already in serial production.

In 2021 Volvo Trucks took orders (including letters of intent to buy) for more than 1,100 electric trucks in over 20 countries. “It´s clearly becoming a competitive advantage to be able to offer silent, zero exhaust emission transport solutions,” commented Alm at the time.

Based on International Truck of the Year (IToY) rules, the annual award goes to the truck introduced into the market in the previous 12 months that has made the most significant contribution to road transport efficiency. This judgement relies on several critical criteria, including technological innovation, comfort, safety, driveability, energy efficiency, environmental footprint, and total cost of ownership (TCO).

For the first time in the history of the IToY award – the roots of which date back to 1977 – an electric truck in series production has won the most sought-after prize in the world of trucking. “Moreover, four vehicles out of five on this year’s IToY award shortlist were BEVs with zero tailpipe emissions. This is proof that the energy transition is gaining momentum in the transportation sector,” says IToY chairperson Gianenrico Griffini.

The IToY journalists praised the performance, seamless acceleration, quietness, and vibration-free behaviour of the FH Electric’s highly efficient electric powertrain, based on two or three electric machines of 330 or 490kW continuous power coupled with the latest generation I-Shift gearbox. Equally crucial in the FH Electric’s winning score for regional cargo transport was the vast array of axle configurations on offer for tractors and rigids, the availability of four cab versions, and the modular portfolio of two to six battery packs, according to the transport mission requirements.

“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 the energy transition is gaining strength even in today’s challenging business environment,” says Griffini, summing up the jury vote.

With six electric truck models in production, Volvo Trucks has the most complete electric line-up in the global truck industry, covering everything from city distribution and refuse handling to urban construction transports and regional haulage. The company wants BEVs to represent half of its total truck sales by 2030.

In June this year, Volvo Trucks South Africa launched its electric truck range in the country. The company is offering its most popular extra heavy trucks in its electric line-up: the Volvo FH, FM, and FMX. These models will be available from 4×2 to 8×4 in truck tractor or rigid configurations.