Volvo CE to manufacture its 1st electric machine in the USA

The new DD25 Electric compactor will be the Volvo Construction Equipment’s first electric machine manufactured in the United States.

Volvo Ce announced the American production plan during an event at its Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, headquarters in August.

The first DD25 models are expected to deliver in early 2024. The company aims to have 35 per cent of its product line electric by 2030.

“This is a monumental day at Volvo CE,” said Scott Young, Acting President of Region North America, Volvo CE. “Manufacturing electric machines in Shippensburg is good news for the environment, our customers, the local economy and the broader U.S. construction equipment industry.”

The DD25 Electric compactor will be manufactured on the same assembly line as Volvo diesel asphalt and soil compactors. This allows the site to expand production capacity without increasing its footprint or incurring significant costs to retool the factory.

The DD25 Electric compactor sprang from a crowdsourcing project within the Shippensburg compaction engineering team, using scrum methodology and building on Volvo CE’s proven electric equipment platform. The first model made its debut in March at ConExpo.

The electric driveline of the DD25 Electric compactor is based on the same architecture and components as the Volvo CE ECR25 Electric compact excavator and L25 Electric compact wheel loader.

Its zero-emission operation makes the DD25 Electric asphalt compactor ideal for sensitive or urban environments with strict emission regulations and for organizations that are looking to meet their own sustainability goals. Zero tailpipe emissions also mean a cleaner and more enjoyable work environment for operators, site teams and the public. If used alongside other electric powered equipment, the DD25 Electric offers the possibility of a zero-emission jobsite.

The DD25 comes with an integrated on-board charger that enables charging from zero to 100 per cent in as little as three hours, depending on AC power level. With an optional off-board DC fast charger, this can be achieved in just over an hour.

The double-drum DD25 Electric asphalt compactor offers 24 kW of available power, which is 30 per cent more than the conventional Volvo DD25B compactor. The result is a more responsive machine in terms of speed and vibrations. It also performs better on grade thanks to the size of its components and better at high elevations when compared to a diesel machine, which loses power as altitude is increased.

Volvo is investing heavily in training for its employees, providing more than 800 total hours of instruction on electric equipment production concepts and processes.

“We have a talented workforce and the perfect space at this location to set ourselves up for ongoing development and production of industry-changing machines,” said Gustavo Casagrandi, Head of Operations at the Shippensburg plant. “Some of the world’s best engineers and production team members are right here, building the future of construction.”