Australia Post has taken delivery of its first Volvo Electric vehicle, which has been put to work as part of a six-month trial.
It’s now been in service for a couple of months, with the parcel logistics giant saying it’s performing well.
The Volvo Electric FL uses four batteries to achieve an energy capacity of 265 kWh. It has a range of up to 300 kilometres, depending on the application and a payload of up to 5500kg.
The electric driveline provides 425Nm of torque, which is delivered to the rear wheels via a two-speed automated transmission.
The Electric FL includes active safety systems such as Autonomous Emergency Braking. It also achieves the rigorous Swedish BOF10 crash rating which surpasses current European crash test standards.
“It’s very rewarding seeing these vehicles go into service after so much hard work ensuring they are the right fit for both our market and the applications they are being put into. These vehicles are proving themselves day in and day out around the globe,” said Tim Camilleri, e-mobility manager at Volvo Group Australia.
“We don’t experiment on our customers; we work with them to deliver the right zero emissions outcome for their business and that means advising on utilisation and charging as well. In this case the FL Electric is an excellent fit for Australia Post.”
Australia Post divisional general manager south, James Dixon, says the trial demonstrates Australia Post’s commitment to innovation and sustainability. “We have worked hard to help reduce our carbon emissions over the last decade, including by adopting low and zero emission vehicles where possible with the largest fleet of electric delivery vehicles in Australia.
“We will continue to push electric vehicles into our fleet where we can, to help reduce emissions wherever we can.”
Volvo Trucks Australia has had medium duty battery electric trucks operating successfully in Australia since mid-2021. With the assistance of the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator and Transport and Main Roads Queensland, the manufacturer was recently given the green light to begin local validation of heavy-duty electric trucks on Queensland roads.
These electric trucks will have the latest heavy vehicle safety features such as lane keeping assist, blind spot detection, passenger corner camera, dynamic steering with stability assist, underrun protection, collision warning with emergency brake and electronically controlled brake systems.