Volvo Trucks begins Australian production, receives first order

Firstly, let’s talk production. Yesterday, Volvo Group Australia announced it is set to begin building the first ever Australian-made electric HGVs at its facility in Brisbane. The Wacol plant has been used to produce vehicles for around 50-years, but will soon focus on producing electric trucks instead of ICE vehicles. It expands the footprint of Volvo truck production to five factories globally. That includes three in Europe, one in the US, and now one in Australia.Linfox is an Australian freight and supply chain company, and it will be the first to deploy some of Volvo’s Australian-made electric trucks. This follows trials of some of Volvo’s e-trucks in 2021, when Linfox trialled two vehicles, and 2023, when it expanded to four.Now, not all of the trucks in the order will come from the Australian plant. The order is comprised of 29 FM Electric and one FH Electric truck. A total of ten of these will carry the Australian Made label, with the rest presumably being sourced from Volvo’s other manufacturing plants elsewhere in the world. Linfox currently operates a total of 195 conventional Volvo FH and FM trucks using ICEs, meaning the electric trucks will immediately make a significant impact on its fleet emissions.Roger Alm, President of Volvo Trucks, said: “We are very proud to continue our close partnership with Linfox. The order for 30 Volvo electric trucks is proof of their trust in our company and in zero-emissions transport as a viable solution here and now. Our commitment to start building electric trucks in Australia demonstrates our confidence in this technology, and means we can offer an industry-leading range of purpose-built electric trucks all around the world.”Martin Merrick, President of Volvo Group Australia, added: “Manufacturing a significant portion of these electric trucks locally is a key pillar of our long-term vision for Australia. We are dedicated to establishing a thriving electric truck manufacturing industry that will create skilled jobs, drive innovation, and accelerate the uptake of zero-emission transport solutions across the Australian road transport sector. To assist the industry [in accelerating] the adoption of low emission electric trucks, we would like to see all state and federal governments provide more accessible incentives for all businesses, especially small to medium enterprises, so they can follow in Linfox’s footsteps.”volvotrucks.com