Trucking major Volvo has announced that it has made the delivery of its first heavy electric truck in the city of Rabat in Morocco.
Deployment of heavy electric trucks is now spreading across the world following the developments in Europe and the US, where the shift to more sustainable transport is kicking off, Volvo wrote in a statement.
The series-produced, zero-exhaust emission truck will be used for collecting waste by the company Arma in Rabat. By replacing the existing Volvo FE diesel truck with a Volvo FE electric on a typical route, approximately 30 tonnes of CO2 could be saved every year, the statement noted.
Commenting on the development, Martin Nilsson, managing director of Volvo Trucks Morocco said, “This is a proud moment when we take the first step to more sustainable, electric transport in Morocco and Africa together with our customer Arma and the city of Rabat.”
He said, this clearly shows that zero-emissions trucks have a role to play in many parts of the world. Volvo is the first global brand with heavy electric trucks in commercial operation in Africa. We have the broadest electric truck line up in the industry, which makes it possible to electrify a large part of heavy transports already today.
Morocco has ambitious climate goals, based on large investments in renewable energy. The country is a leader in solar power and home to the world’s biggest concentrated solar power facility, Noor Quarzazate, located 200 km southeast of Marrakech.
The truck is a Volvo FE Electric, one of six all-electric Volvo truck models, already in serial production. Volvo Trucks has the broadest line-up of electric trucks available for commercial transports. The company’s global target is that in 2030, 50% of all new trucks it sells will be electric truck.
Youssef Ahizoune, CEO of Arma group, said, “We are proud to be the first company in the waste management sector in Morocco and in Africa to have chosen to invest in sustainable mobility in cooperation with Volvo Trucks.”
He explained, “By taking a step towards the electrification of our truck fleet, Arma is reducing its carbon footprint, showing one more time our commitment to the environment. Our intentions are clear: we will continue investing in innovations that help reduce emissions and benefit the environment while supporting our customers in meeting their own sustainability goals.”