Hundreds of jobs at risk after electric truck plant files for bankruptcy

Volta was developing a 16-ton all-electric vehicle. Photo: This Night

Hundreds of British jobs are at risk as Swedish electric truck startup files for bankruptcy.

Volta Trucks, which was developing a 16-tonne all-electric vehicle, said it had filed for bankruptcy. bankruptcy in Sweden after its main battery supplier went bankrupt.

Its UK arm is also filing for administration and intends to appoint insolvency experts Alvarez & Marsal. The collapse puts around 600 British jobs at risk. The majority of Volta's 850 employees were based in the UK, mainly in the Midlands.

The company said: «Volta Trucks has achieved great things since its inception in 2019, revolutionizing commercial vehicle manufacturing for a sustainable future.» .

“However, like all EV expansion ventures, Volta Trucks has encountered challenges along the way.”

It's the latest electric vehicle company to run into trouble. A wave of electric vehicle startups have emerged in recent years amid growing interest in clean technology and quick access to venture capital funding.

However, many have since gone bankrupt as economic conditions have worsened and interest rates have fallen. resurrected Others experienced long production delays.

Lordstown Motors, a US electric truck company once valued at $1.6 billion, also filed in June on bankruptcy protection. Photo: MEGAN GELINGER/AFP

Lordstown Motors, an American electric truck company that was at one stage valued at $1.6 billion (£1.3 billion). , filed for bankruptcy in June. Chinese electric van maker WM Motor also went bankrupt this week, having been valued at $2 billion earlier this year.

UK-based electric van maker Arrival is currently trying to secure additional funding to secure its survival after cutting 25% of its workforce earlier this month.

Volta has raised more than €360m (£312m) for its electric truck technology, including grant funding from the German government. Its Volta Zero truck was designed for urban delivery and had a range of up to 125 miles.

It has leased a 30,000 square foot service center near Tottenham Court Road in London, it announced in June for an event with Mayor Sadiq Khan. M&S previously tested its trucks on a road test in the UK in November last year.

Although production of the first electric trucks began at the Austrian plant in April, the Volta's plans were thrown into doubt after it had a battery . -maker also filed for bankruptcy protection in the US.

Supplier Proterra filed for Chapter 11 protection in August, which Volta said had a «significant impact on our production plans.»