Equipment Wins Red Dot award for New Electric Design

The Red Dot is one of the world’s largest and most respected design competitions and recognizes outstanding achievements in product and industrial design.
July 13, 2025
2 min read

Volvo’s L120 wheel loader won a Red Dot Product Design award at the annual ceremony in Essen, Germany, last week. 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 modern look was the result of a year of bold thinking by technology and design teams from Jinan in China, and Eskilstuna and Gothenburg in Sweden. This award achievement is therefore a testament to the power of global collaboration.

The sleek shape of the battery-electric machine symbolizes a new era of electromobility – in contrast to the industry’s ‘boxy’ diesel wheel loaders, the company said. The thoughtful design supports improved visibility, safety and sustainability and is the first of its kind within Volvo’s broad portfolio of electric solutions.

A new look for a new era of electric
“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, Volvo CE. “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.”

The streamlined frame of the electric loader is made possible because of the removal of a combustion engine, the company said. 

 

About the Author

Michael Roth

Editor

Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.

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