Volvo Group has completed Australia’s longest ever journey in an electric truck, with a FH Electric travelling a record-breaking 1185km from Brisbane to Canberra.

It marks the maiden voyage for the FH Electric, which has only recently been able to get onto the road thanks to changes to width and weight restrictions in Australia.

“Recently announced provisional changes to front-axel weight restrictions have enabled this journey and have shown what is possible in terms of zero emission intercity transportation, but we need to see permanent changes harmonised on front axle weight restrictions across every state and territory to accelerate next generation sustainable mobility and meet our climate targets,” Volvo Group Australia President, Martin Merrick said.

The journey coincided with the delivery to Canberra of Australia’s first zero-emissions logistics vehicle for the emergency services – an FL Electric – to the ACT Emergency Service Agency (ESA). The vehicle was first unveiled in August this year at the Brisbane Australasian Fire and Authorities (AFAC) conference.

The Volvo FH Electric completing this interstate journey is the largest truck in Volvo’s heavy-duty electric truck range. Launched earlier this year, it is one of the only OEM heavy duty electric trucks available to order in the country capable of regional haulage with a range of up to 300km.