Electric vehicle specialist Voltempo is developing a 15.6-metre-long autonomous rigid prototype truck without a cab, promising to maximise load space and payload at the longest permissible length for a non-articulated vehicle. The concept aims to extend a rigid lorry’s length and capacity beyond the current maximums of 12 metres, 32 tonnes and four axles to 15.6 metres, 42 tonnes and five axles. Ensure you always get Fleet News insight. Make us your preferred source on Google It will be the same length as a coach and the lack of a cab will free up weight and space for greater load capacity, creating what Voltempo founder and corporate development officer, Michael Boxwell, describes as a “smart trailer”. Berkeley Coachworks is building the body, and a well-known truck manufacturer will supply the electric drivetrain. The prototype is due to be completed by September 2027, and trials are expected to start later that year at an autonomous vehicle test track in South Wales. The UK’s Automated Vehicles Act allows driverless vehicles to travel on public roads from this year. Orders for production models of the autonomous vehicle are expected to begin in late 2027, with first deliveries tipped for mid-2028. “If you get rid of the (truck) cab, you’ve got a 15.6-metre long longer semi-trailer, in effect,” said Boxwell (pictured above). “An articulated tractor and trailer unit is about 15-17 tonnes as a diesel vehicle, and as an electric vehicle, it’s maybe 19 tonnes. “With this smart trailer, we can get the laden weight down to between 10 and 12 tons as an electric vehicle. That means you’ve got 15% more space compared to a standard-length trailer. “You’ve got a significant amount of extra payload – five-to-seven-tonnes – and, bearing in mind the weight of a cab is two tonnes… we worked out