Trucks
Trucks
Our trucks are 40% more fuel-efficient today than they were 40 years ago. And we’ve committed to make them 1% more efficient every year.
Increasing the length of a truck improves its transport efficiency. And its fuel consumption is reduced. It’s a simple concept. So we’re working with different stakeholders to help make it happen - thereby reducing C02.
As diesel engines evolve, emission levels drop. In the EU, US and Japan, emissions have reduced between 75% and 95% in the past 20 years. Since the requirements are being applied more widely, other countries aren’t too far behind. We welcome tougher legislation. And could meet stricter emissions requirements before they come into force. Any new legislation, however, needs to work hand-in-hand with improvements in fuel quality. Pollution doesn’t stop at geographical borders. So we want the legally permitted limits to be globally consistent. We also want plans in place to help phase out older truck models that are still in operation.
We have more than 20 years experience of hybrid technology. We also designed the Volvo FE Hybrid to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 by up to 20%. Hybrids are quieter – making them ideal for city and night-time assignments. The diesel engine in a hybrid truck can also run on renewable biofuels like HVO. In the long term, our hybrid technology will be applied to broader applications, like long haul.
There is no single source of energy that can replace oil. Instead, the development covers a wide spectrum of fuels that are suitable for different purposes.Our objective is to make a long-term difference, so we’re working with alternatives that are both energy efficient and have a low climate impact from a ‘well-to-wheel’ perspective. While we currently offer LNG-powered trucks today, we are also focusing on other interesting fuel sources: Methane, HVO and DME. We’re the first truck manufacturer to carry out comprehensive customer-based field tests involving Bio-DME fuel. And we're the first manufacturer to present a diesel engine that runs on methane gas, with some diesel used for ignition.
Noise pollution is damaging to people’s health. At speeds over 50km/h, it’s the tyres, not the driveline, making the noise. So we’re looking at the entire vehicle to help reduce noise: truck, superstructure, tyres. Everything.
Around a third of the materials in a new Volvo truck come from recycled materials. And up to 90% of the truck can be recycled at the end of its life. This is because we label components for easy identification and dismantling. We also renovate used parts, provide dismantling manuals and operate dismantling facilities.
We’re the only manufacturer in our industry to conduct life cycle assessments. On all of our trucks. And we’ve used this invaluable information in our footprint calculator. The calculator takes into account everything over a truck's entire lifecycle: materials, energy consumption, emissions and more.
