Volvo Group Australia has begun manufacturing battery-electric trucks at its facility in Wacol, marking a milestone for the Brisbane plant and Australia’s heavy vehicle manufacturing sector.
Read: Volvo Confirms Local Electric Truck Production at Wacol
The company said the trucks are the first Australian-made electric trucks produced by an original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, with the vehicles now rolling off the production line at Wacol.
The milestone builds on more than five decades of truck manufacturing at the site. Volvo established its Wacol production facility in 1972 and has continued building trucks there for Australian conditions. The facility currently manufactures Volvo and Mack trucks for the Australian and New Zealand region.
The introduction of battery-electric truck manufacturing has involved specialist training for Volvo’s Australian workforce. The company said international experts worked with local employees to prepare them for electric truck production, allowing the vehicles to be manufactured to Volvo’s global standards.
Local workforce takes on electric production
For Volvo, the move adds electric truck manufacturing to an established Australian production operation. Volvo Trucks President Roger Alm said Australia was an important market for the company and that producing electric trucks locally demonstrated its long-term commitment to the country.
The company also said electric trucks would play a key role in the future of transport, with local production supporting the transition towards more sustainable heavy vehicle operations and bringing Volvo closer to its customers and their needs.
Volvo said transport accounts for around 22 per cent of Australia’s carbon emissions. It also identified several areas that would be important to the wider transition to electric heavy vehicles, including cooperation between industry and policymakers, supportive policy settings, harmonised road weight regulations, procurement commitments and investment in charging and electricity infrastructure.
The company said the Wacol production achievement demonstrated the capability of its Australian workforce and facilities, while giving the local team the ability to build electric trucks to a global standard.
Linfox to receive first locally made trucks
The first Australian-made electric trucks will enter service with logistics company Linfox. The vehicles are part of a 30-truck order announced by Volvo in 2025, when the company said it would manufacture heavy-duty electric trucks at Wacol for Linfox. The order comprises 29 Volvo FM Electric trucks and one Volvo FH Electric, with the first Australian-made vehicles forming part of the program.
Volvo said the first locally manufactured electric trucks would support Linfox’s fleet while demonstrating the capability to produce electric heavy vehicles in Australia.
The Wacol factory has been part of Volvo’s Australian manufacturing operation since 1972. The company says its Australian engineers have developed trucks around local operating conditions, including the heavier loads and longer distances encountered across the country.
The electric production program builds on that established manufacturing operation while introducing battery-electric vehicles to the Wacol production line.
Read: Wacol-Built Electric, HVO Trucks Spearhead QFES’s Green Transport Push
For Volvo, the milestone also serves as a proof of concept for local electric truck manufacturing. The company said the achievement showed what its Australian workforce and facilities are capable of delivering.
The first locally made vehicles are now set to enter service with Linfox, marking the start of Volvo’s Australian-made OEM electric truck production at its Wacol plant.
Published 25-August-2026
