Volta
Sweden: 2019 - 2025
Volta Trucks was a start-up that set out to build fully electric trucks for city distribution. It was founded in May 2019 by Carl-Magnus Norden, with Kjell Walöen as co-founder and technical chief, and had registered offices in Stockholm and London. Engineering was led from the United Kingdom.
The company presented its first idea in November 2019 at the Freight in the City expo in London, a truck with a central driver seat and sliding doors, and revealed the production design, the Volta Zero, in September 2020. Its approach was to sell the truck together with charging, software and driver training, and, in early plans, to offer it as a service on long contracts instead of selling it outright.
In April 2021 Essa Al-Saleh, a former chairman of the board and former head of the logistics group Agility, became chief executive and executive chairman, and Norden moved to a board role. A pilot fleet of about 25 trucks was built for testing with customers in several European countries. In September 2021 the company announced a Series B round of 37 million euros, and Steyr Automotive in Austria was chosen as the contract manufacturer.
Customers announced by the company included DB Schenker (an order of about 1,470 vehicles), Petit Forestier (1,000 refrigerated trucks), Posten Bring and the drinks distributor Nobl. In April 2022 Volta reported an order book of about 6,000 vehicles and showed 7.5 t and 12 t versions of the Volta Zero. Hubs for service and driver training were announced in London, near Paris, Madrid and Duisburg. Reports differ on the money raised from investors, with figures of 360 to 460 million euros, with Luxor Capital as the largest shareholder.
Series production of the Volta Zero started at Steyr in April 2023. The company then ran out of money, and the Swedish parent company filed for bankruptcy on 17 October 2023. The UK business went into administration, and about 600 jobs were reportedly lost.
The UK assets were bought by Luxor Capital, with reports differing on whether the deal closed in late 2023 or in spring 2024. In 2024 the business restarted as Volta Commercial Vehicles under Al-Saleh, with a smaller team and a plan to supply the Volta Zero as a chassis-cab for body builders. Deliveries planned for the end of 2024 did not materialise, and in May 2025 the UK company entered administration for the second time while the Austrian subsidiary was also reported to be in difficulty. An administrator was said to be looking for investors.
The only model of the company is the Volta Zero, a 16 t (later also 18 t) electric distribution truck. The number of trucks built and delivered has not been published.
Sweden: 2019 - 2025
Volta Trucks was a start-up that set out to build fully electric trucks for city distribution. It was founded in May 2019 by Carl-Magnus Norden, with Kjell Walöen as co-founder and technical chief, and had registered offices in Stockholm and London. Engineering was led from the United Kingdom.
The company presented its first idea in November 2019 at the Freight in the City expo in London, a truck with a central driver seat and sliding doors, and revealed the production design, the Volta Zero, in September 2020. Its approach was to sell the truck together with charging, software and driver training, and, in early plans, to offer it as a service on long contracts instead of selling it outright.
In April 2021 Essa Al-Saleh, a former chairman of the board and former head of the logistics group Agility, became chief executive and executive chairman, and Norden moved to a board role. A pilot fleet of about 25 trucks was built for testing with customers in several European countries. In September 2021 the company announced a Series B round of 37 million euros, and Steyr Automotive in Austria was chosen as the contract manufacturer.
Customers announced by the company included DB Schenker (an order of about 1,470 vehicles), Petit Forestier (1,000 refrigerated trucks), Posten Bring and the drinks distributor Nobl. In April 2022 Volta reported an order book of about 6,000 vehicles and showed 7.5 t and 12 t versions of the Volta Zero. Hubs for service and driver training were announced in London, near Paris, Madrid and Duisburg. Reports differ on the money raised from investors, with figures of 360 to 460 million euros, with Luxor Capital as the largest shareholder.
Series production of the Volta Zero started at Steyr in April 2023. The company then ran out of money, and the Swedish parent company filed for bankruptcy on 17 October 2023. The UK business went into administration, and about 600 jobs were reportedly lost.
The UK assets were bought by Luxor Capital, with reports differing on whether the deal closed in late 2023 or in spring 2024. In 2024 the business restarted as Volta Commercial Vehicles under Al-Saleh, with a smaller team and a plan to supply the Volta Zero as a chassis-cab for body builders. Deliveries planned for the end of 2024 did not materialise, and in May 2025 the UK company entered administration for the second time while the Austrian subsidiary was also reported to be in difficulty. An administrator was said to be looking for investors.
The only model of the company is the Volta Zero, a 16 t (later also 18 t) electric distribution truck. The number of trucks built and delivered has not been published.
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Commercial
Volta Zero
2019 -
2025