The presence of electromobility has not only complicated the passenger transportation sector. A number of companies are also starting to explore how this could change the transportation of goods. Companies such as Volvo Trucks, Mercedes and Tesla have started developing electric tractors. But the sector has also attracted a number of new names, including companies Volta and Convoy. However, their great ambitions were not realized and the two announced their end.

Perhaps the most famous example of a startup whose activities in the freight transport sector did not go as imagined is the company Nikola. They deceived investors with a promotional video of a hydrogen-powered mobile truck, which was actually a non-working prototype that was rolled down a hill.

While Nikola managed to repair its reputation and survive, other truck startups weren’t as lucky. Among the latest brands to abandon their efforts to revolutionize trucking are compact truck manufacturer Volta Trucks, as well as Convoy, which is trying to be a kind of Uber, but connecting truckers and carriers.

Two years ago, Volta Trucks had the ambition to deliver five thousand units of its electric compact truck this year. It is designed primarily to supply businesses in cities, where there should be no problems even on small streets. However, instead of exploring the historic centers, bankruptcy occurred.

One of the reasons is the end of the company Proterra, which was supposed to be the main supplier of batteries for the Swedish startup’s trucks. The carmaker was then unable to produce vehicles in sufficient quantities, which led to a lack of capital and management having to close its entire business this month.

This decision affects employees in several states. Outside Sweden, the company operates mainly in the UK, and production itself takes place in Austria. At the same time, the factory there should be busy according to the original plan. The startup managed to get orders for around five thousand vehicles, but also managed to approach investors, who in the past received 300 million euros (around 7.4 billion kroons).

In terms of its ability to attract investors, Convoy is also very successful. He even managed to attract names like Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos. But despite this, the plan did not go as expected, and the company immediately sent an email to employees informing them that they no longer had to go to work tomorrow.

The cause of the bankruptcy of the company that decided to become a digital intermediary between truck drivers and transport companies is said to be the current recession in the field of goods transport. According to company director Dan Lewis, this has led to a lack of interest in purchasing Convoy’s assets by other entities.

At the same time, the company’s value was still estimated at 3.8 billion dollars in April last year, which is about 93.5 billion kroons. Apart from Gates and Bezos, Lewis previously worked as a manager at Amazon, the startup was able to approach a number of other big name investors. He was attracted by the idea of ​​filling half-empty trucks with other goods so that logistics could be as efficient as possible.

The company, which was founded in 2015, was supposed to look for a new owner starting in August this year. Among the potential interested parties are, for example, the retail chain Walmart, shipping company Maersk or Amazon directly.