Volvo Trucks, the world’s leading heavy-duty truck maker, will introduce electric trucks in Korea from the second half, exclusively designed at smaller width of 2.5m to meet Korean regulations.

According to industry sources on Wednesday, Volvo Trucks will start mass production of zero-emission heavy-duty trucks with a width of 2.5m in the latter half of the year. It is planning to file for an approval from the local authority with a test driving within the year.

Volvo Trucks recently disclosed the test drive result of its 40-ton electric truck FH Electric, which succeeded in driving 343km at an average speed of 80km/h on a single charge.

Mercedes-Benz started churning out its battery-electric heavy-duty truck eActros in October last year. It now is monitoring the market situation, waiting for policy moves for state subsidies and charging infrastructure.

Currently, there are only 1-ton electric trucks riding on Korean roads. In the eco-friendly vehicle category, Hyundai Motor’s Xcient Fuel Cell heavy-duty truck is under test driving.

Commercial electric heavy-duty trucks will be able to contribute much to carbon neutrality. The large vehicles take up only 1 percent of all vehicles, but its emissions of fine dust account for 24.2 percent of all.

For its inroads into the local heavy truck market, Volvo Trucks designed an exclusive model with a width of 2.5m to meet the local regulations. In Korea, only the vehicles with a maximum width of 2.5m are allowed to ride on roads, not like in the U.S., Europe and China, which is why foreign brands have so far made separate designs for sales in the market.

Australia also applies the same stricter rule for commercial vehicles. European makers last year demanded an eased regulation for zero-emission vehicles, and the Australian authority accepted the offer after a thorough examination of the effect on road safety.

“Considering the local road conditions, an increase in vehicle width to 2.55m could be a serious change causing a safety problem. There’s no urgent need for an eased rule as foreign brands can enter the local market anytime with cars satisfying the existing rule,” said Park Moon-soo, head of advanced motor vehicles division, Transport and Logistics Office of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

By Won Ho-sup, Lee Jong-hyuk and Lee Ha-yeon

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]