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Ahead of its start of series production next quarter, commercial EV startup Volta Trucks announced it has locked in customer orders for over 300 of its all-electric Volta Zero trucks. These orders alone secure a huge chunk of the company’s overall production targets for 2023, representing customer demand and cause for optimism as Volta Trucks finally looks to begin initial EV deliveries and expand to additional markets.

Volta Trucks is a London-based commercial EV startup that offers “Trucks as a Service” (TaaS). Since its inception in 2019, the company has been consistently working to deliver its first commercial truck, the Volta Zero, which began as a mere concept drawing.

The first Zero is a 16-ton electric truck, but Volta has since shared plans for three additional variations scheduled to arrive by 2025. Until then however, Volta’s focus has remained on reaching scaled production of its flagship model, sharing its process along the way.

Last fall, we saw the Volta Zero electric truck prototypes tested under extremely hot conditions, which was followed by the news that the very first Zero had rolled off its assembly line overseas, kicking off the 16-ton model’s last phase before commercial production.

With scaled production slotted to begin in a couple months, Volta Trucks has already secured a slew of customer orders totaling tens of millions of dollars right out of the gate.

Volta electric trucks
Source: Volta Trucks

Volta gets orders for hundreds of electric trucks before SOP

According to an official release from Volta Trucks this morning, over 300 of the manufacturing slots planned for its start of electric truck production are spoken for.

By securing these customer orders, Volta explains that it expects to see revenue totaling over 85 million euros ($92 million). Volta Trucks CEO Essa Al-Saleh spoke to the company’s quickly growing order book:

Volta Trucks has made important progress in the first few weeks of 2023, confirming more than 300 customer truck orders for the first vehicles off our production line in Austria. This covers a meaningful portion of our 2023 production targets, before customers have pilot tested the vehicles. This is a major achievement and demonstrates the compelling features of the Volta Zero and the trust that our customers have in our ability to deliver. Volta Trucks is poised for a successful first year of sales and production. We are confident and focused on delivering on our strategic ambitions and purpose to decarbonize and improve the safety of city centers.

Volta added that its contract manufacturing plant in Steyr, Austria, is ready to meet the customer demand the company is celebrating today. Volta Zero series production remains on track to begin early Q2 2023.

As previously reported, Volta is also planning to begin electric truck sales in the US by 2024, beginning with a pilot program in Los Angeles later this year.

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Hyundai’s new Kona Electric is even cheaper to lease than the gas-powered model at $169/mo

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Hyundai's new Kona Electric is even cheaper to lease than the gas-powered model at 9/mo

The newly designed Hyundai Kona Electric is better in every way, with more range, faster charging, and a bold new style. Hyundai’s new 2024 Kona Electric is even cheaper to lease than the gas-powered model, starting at $169 per month.

Hyundai Kona Electric cheaper to lease than gas model

Hyundai revealed the 2024 Kona Electric at the NY Auto Show last April with a sleek new “EV-derived” design.

You can instantly see the upgrades with a modern style closer to its IONIQ 5 and 6 dedicated EVs. The inside is nearly 6″ longer, with an additional 3″ legroom in the second row. A flat floor design creates more head and shoulder space than the previous model.

Hyundai included its next-gen dual 12.3″ infotainment system with a faster, more intelligent user face. It also comes with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard.

The 2024 Kona EV features a slightly bigger battery with faster charging and up to 261 miles range. Starting under $33,000, the 2024 Kona Electric is already one of the most affordable EVs in the US.

Hyundai-Kona-electric-cheaper
2024 Hyundai Kona electric (Source: Hyundai)

2024 Kona EV prices

It’s available in three trims: SE, SEL, and Limited. The base SE model includes a 48.6 kWh battery for up to 200 miles range. The SEL and Limited feature a 64.8 kWh battery, good for up to 261 miles range.


2024 Hyundai Kona electric trim
Starting Price
(not including a $1,335 delivery fee)
SE $32,675
SEL $36,675
Limited $41,045
2024 Hyundai Kona electric starting price by trim

With an up to $7,500 featured cash offer, you can lease the 2024 Hyundai Kona Electric SE for as low as $169 per month.

The deal is for 24 months, with $1,999 due at signing. It also includes the $7,500 EV Lease Bonus for a net capitalized cost of $25,370.

If you’re looking for the higher-range SEL trim, it can be leased for as little as $199 per month. That’s also for 24 months, with $1,579 due at signing. With the EV credit, the net capitalized cost is $29,419.

However, you may have to act fast. Hyundai’s website shows the deal ends in five days on April 30, 2024.

Are you ready to drive off in your new Hyundai Kona Electric at some of the lowest prices yet? We can help you get started. You can use our link to find deals on the 2024 Hyundai Kona Electric near you today.

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Podcast: Tesla earnings, Model 3 Performance, Mercedes-Benz electric G-Class, and more

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Podcast: Tesla earnings, Model 3 Performance, Mercedes-Benz electric G-Class, and more

On the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss all the news coming out of Tesla’s earnings, Model 3 Performance, Mercedes-Benz electric G-Class, and more.

Sponsored by SplitVolt: The Splitvolt Splitter Switch automatically shares power from your existing 240V dryer socket with your Level 2 EV charger. Learn more here.

The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET):

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Rivian starts shipping NACS adapters for Tesla’s Supercharger network

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Rivian starts shipping NACS adapters for Tesla's Supercharger network

Rivian has promised free NACS adapters will be sent out to its owners, and it’s starting that process now.

Rivian officially got access to Tesla’s Supercharger network last month, but in order to use it, non-Tesla cars need an adapter. Most other EVs come with a CCS plug, but Tesla’s plug is now called NACS, after it opened its charge standard in 2022.

Third party adapters have been available, but several of the automakers that have announced they’re switching to NACS have committed to sending out adapters to owners as soon as they’re available. We saw the Rivian adapter design leaked in February.

So far, Ford and Rivian have Supercharger access, with GM, Polestar and Volvo coming this spring, and others coming later. Tesla previously announced that GM would get access in February, so we imagine that is coming imminently (we heard reports on social media today that GM adapters are now available, but GM communications told us that those reports are not accurate, and that they will be available “later this year”).

In February, Ford did start sending out adapters, becoming the first automaker to do so. This is fitting, given that Ford was the first domino that led to basically the entire industry adopting NACS.

However, delivery of Ford adapters has been a little slow, with delivery estimates being pushed back by Ford.

Now, Rivian is becoming the second automaker to send out adapters.

Rivian owners have started to receive emails from the automaker asking for their shipping address, according to a thread on rivianforums.com. The original poster has a low VIN number, as do some other forum users who got the email, so we imagine they might be high on the list, with other owners with higher VINs getting their emails soon.

The email states:

Hi there,

Good news! Your complimentary NACS DC adapter is ready to be shipped. Please follow the link below to let us know your preferred delivery address within 60 days of receiving this email.

Please Note: Unfortunately, we cannot support shipping to PO Boxes or any addresses that are outside the United States or Canada at this time.

So – if you’re a Rivian owner, keep your eyes on your email, because it sounds like adapter shipping is imminent (and make sure you’ve responded to the April 4 email to opt-in to receiving the adapter).

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