All-electric lorry unveiled in Dubai to hit UAE roads in weeks

Volvo's electric vehicle has a range of 300km and will be used for city-to-city haulage across the country

Volvo's new electric lorry, said to be the first of its kind in the UAE, was unveiled at Al Serkal Avenue in Dubai. All photos: Pawan Singh / The National

Inside the eco-friendly lorry

The vehicle has a range of 300km per charge

Antoine Barthes, vice president of Al Futtaim Automotive, speaks during the launch event at Al Serkal Avenue in Dubai

The heavy-duty lorry can haul up to 44 tonnes

The first heavy-duty, all-electric lorry in the UAE was launched on Tuesday night in Dubai.

Manufactured by Volvo, the first of the eco-friendly fleet will hit the country’s roads in a matter of weeks, said a senior figure from the company.

The vehicles have a range of 300km and can haul up to 44 tonnes.

It is expected they will be used for city-to-city haulage rather than international trips.

“It will be used for regional or city-to-city transport, like going from a hub to a harbour,” said Johan Selven, vice president of sales and marketing for Volvo Trucks International.

“The truck that has been launched tonight is the first of its kind and it has been bought by Unilever.

“We’ve got a lot of interest from other companies as well to also buy the trucks, transporters in the region are extremely keen.”

He made his comments at an event to launch the vehicle in Dubai’s Al Quoz district, which was held by Volvo and Al Futtaim Automotive company.

From Abu Dhabi to Dubai and back

“With the 300km charge, you can get from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, for instance,” Mr Selven said.

“It’s quite a big charge.”

The vehicle is compatible with the widely used CCS electric charger, the most common of its type.

However, the charging time means it is more likely users would leave it charging overnight to run on a fully powered battery, he added.

The launch follows on the heels of an announcement in Abu Dhabi on Monday that the UAE capital was wheeling out a range of all-electric waste collection vehicles.

“We are taking heavy-duty trucks into the electric dimension, which is something that’s very new here,” said Antoine Barthes, vice president of Al Futtaim Automotive.

“It’s going to be a big, big change.”

There were more than 60,000 medium-to-heavy duty electric lorries sold in 2022 around the world, according to figures released by the International Energy Agency.

About 52,000 of those were sold in China alone, the same report stated.

The UAE has set out to achieve zero emissions by the year 2050, necessitating a shift from petrol and diesel to electric engines.

“This region has traditionally been very dependent on petrol but I believe that era is going to be behind us soon,” said Mr Barthes.

“We are going to see more and more electric vehicles on our roads and this is proof of the commitment to make the future greener.”