All In the Family: Volvo rolls out new engine line

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Volvo Trucks North America has unveiled its complete family of Volvo diesel engines to meet the new emissions standards for 2007.

The announcement was made at a news conference during the American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition in Boston. The new family of engines will include 11- and 13-litre models, in addition to the 16-litre Volvo D16 introduced earlier this year.

Volvo’s D16 introduced this year

“Volvo plans to use its resources and expertise as the largest manufacturer of heavy-duty diesels in the world to give our customers an exceptionally broad, powerful and reliable line of diesels,” said Peter Karlsten, president and CEO of Volvo Trucks North America. “These new engines are designed to surpass the excellent record of the Volvo D12, while also giving our customers the ability to fine-tune their engine choice, based on their application and other requirements. These engines embody more than 60 years of Volvo innovation and experience in diesel technology.”

Volvo plans to launch the engines to customers and dealers during the first quarter of 2006.

As previously announced, Volvo has selected high-performance exhaust gas recirculation (HEGR) as the primary NOx emissions control and a diesel particulate filter (DPF) for particulate control for its EPA’07-compliant engines.

All of Volvo’s 2007 engines are designed to use the ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel mandated by the U.S. government to be available in the second half of 2006. In addition to the emissions reductions solutions, Volvo’s 2007 engine family will include the following key hardware:

Advanced, high-pressure fuel injection with multiple injections per stroke; Increased peak cylinder pressures; Single-stage variable geometry turbocharger (VGT); Reinforced base engine components to handle internal loads; High-capacity cooling system fully integrated into truck design; Advanced centrifugal crankcase ventilation

The current Volvo D16 is the first example of this new engine architecture, the company says. “Our testing indicates that the new family of engines will maintain the level of fuel economy demonstrated by the current Volvo D12, while delivering driveability even better than the D12’s already excellent performance,” said Karlsten. “We are taking full advantage of our EPA’02 experience to optimize the 2007 engine family for our customers.”