Stockholm, Sweden: Volta Trucks, which had been conducting trials in Europe of its electric trucks, says it has struggled to secure funding due to problems with its battery supplier.
Volta said it would file bankruptcy proceedings in Sweden, where the Volta group is based, and seek to appoint Alvarez & Marsal as administrators for its main UK operation where it has manufacturing, research and development sites. The company had been trialing its electric truck, the Zero, in the UK and on the continent and had only recently opened a service hub in north London.
The truck has a 200km range and is designed for urban deliveries. It has a central driving position, a concept repeatedly tried in the UK without acceptance by operators or drivers, to save manufacturing costs of models for UK and continental use. First customer deliveries of Volta trucks were expected this year in Sweden.
Today, the company said: “Piloting in five countries in Europe, we received fantastic feedback, which led to a strong pipeline of highly reputed customers who wanted to introduce our Volta Zero Trucks into their fleets.
“However, like all scale-ups in the EV [electric vehicle] manufacturing sector, Volta Trucks has faced challenges along the way. The recent news that our battery supplier (Proterra) has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, has had a significant impact on our manufacturing plans, reducing the volume of vehicles that we had forecast to produce.
“The uncertainty with our battery supplier also negatively affected our ability to raise sufficient capital in an already challenging capital-raising environment for electric vehicle players.”
The statement said of its decision to declare insolvency: “The board has not taken this course easily or lightly and is fully aware of the significant impact this will have on the organisation’s dedicated workforce, as well as customers and partners.”
Volta joins a growing list of electric truck startups that have failed including Proterra and Lordstown. In the last few years electric vehicle startups have raised billions from investors, but most have struggled to get to mass production. Fundraising has become tough for startups with rising interest rates.
