Volvo CE Wins Design Award for Electric Loader
The L120 Electric wheel loader design was honored with a Red Dot Product Design award. The design breaks the “boxy” diesel loader look, according to Volvo CE, and “supports improved visibility, safety, and sustainability.”
The Red Dot is one of the world’s largest and most respected design competitions and recognizes outstanding achievements in product and industrial design.
The machine’s design was the result of a year of work by technology and design teams from Jinan in China, and Eskilstuna and Gothenburg in Sweden.
“I’m happy we won this award but I’m especially happy that we won it for this machine,” said Peter Reuterberg, senior chief advanced designer, in a statement. “The change from diesel to electric gave us the opportunity to think differently and strive for big impact. Our hope is that this new silhouette will be instantly recognizable as electric.”
Since the machine has no engine, engineers and designers agreed to integrate the batteries into the counterweight of the machine. The heavy weight of a battery is often seen as a problem in electric machine design, but in this case, the battery is being used to replace a concrete counterweight required for wheel loaders.
The result is a machine that not only looks great, but provides enhanced visibility, safety and sustainability compared to traditional diesel variants, according to the company.
“When we debuted the machine, it marked a significant breakthrough, truly capturing the spirit of an electric vehicle,” said Annie Gao, product platform engineer at the Jinan Technology Center, in a statement.