Volvo’s Low Emission Efforts Keep on Truckin’

Volvo has announced a new autonomous electric vehicle (EV) to works in ports, factories and other logistics centres.

Its ‘Vera’ design has no cab for a driver and is designed for regular and repetitive tasks over short distances, while slashing exhaust emissions and noise levels.

The automaker says each vehicle will be managed and monitored by a central control centre, enabling round-the-clock operation to increase productivity.

The concept vehicle uses existing logistics infrastructure such as standard containers and trailers so it can be adopted into existing systems as soon as it is released.

Mikael Karlsson, Vice President of Autonomous Solutions at Volvo, said: “We can see a boom in e-commerce, as well as overall global consumption and it shows no signs of slowing down.

“The industry needs to find new ways to meet the increased demand on transports in an efficient and sustainable way. Therefore, new solutions need to be developed to complement what’s available today.”

Toyota has recently unveiled a new hydrogen fuel-cell electric freight truck able to cover a 300-mile range on a full tank.