Volvo Sees Growth in 2018, Especially With VNR

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Transport Topics  /  September 25, 2017

ATLANTA — Volvo Trucks North America is preparing for expected heavy-duty sales growth in 2018, and two trucks introduced earlier this year, the new VNR and the remodeled VNL, will be its main warhorses.

The Greensboro, N.C.-based OEM also said here Sept. 25 that its engineers are trying to harness significant changes that are coming to trucking and truck making in the fields of electric, automated or connected vehicles — and that all three could be in a single truck.

Keith Brandis, VTNA director of product planning, said connected vehicles have made the most progress so far, but that automation and electrification still need lots of work.

“It will take many steps,” to get to the future, Brandis said. “We’ll need many, many miles of testing. We engineers haven’t figured out all of this yet, but that’s OK.

“The technology will not be cheap, and it will take time to develop economies of scale,” he said.

The Volvo press conference was part of the inaugural North American Commercial Vehicle Show (NACV).

For the foreseeable future, VTNA management sees automation as driver assistance, not replacement.

“We can’t see a world without professional truck drivers,” said spokesman Brandon Borgna. “This should not be seen as a way to remove the driver.”

Electrified trucks are coming, said VTNA President Göran Nyberg.

“We will see them first with light- and medium-duty trucks, but I still believe longhaul trucks will be based on diesel for a while.”

Fuel and engine issues are changing rapidly. Earlier this decade natural gas, either compressed or liquefied, was seen as the savior of trucking.

All OEMs made CNG trucks, and Volvo also touted the virtues of dimethyl ether, or DME, but not lately.

Brandis said hopes for electricity have replaced natural gas and DME, not because they are bad fuels but because the world has changed.

“Electricity is coming and will be a part of [the future]. We have to place our bets as best we can,” he said.

Nyberg said CNG and DME looked good when diesel was $4 per gallon, but when diesel is less than $3, “it puts a cap in interest in those fuels,” Nyberg said.

North American Class 8 sales had a banner year in 2015 and then declined last year. Nyberg said he expects this year’s sales to dip even further from 2016, but next year looks better.

“A strong labor market is driving growth in GDP and manufacturing is rebounding in 2017,” he said. He noted diesel prices have been stable.

Marketing Vice President Magnus Koeck said this makes for a good time to introduce new highway tractors. The company rolled out its new VNR regional haul model in April, and updated the VNL longhaul tractor in July.

The VNR replaced the VNM model, and Koeck said the VNR holds great potential for Volvo to increase its market share.

Koeck said in an interview after his formal remarks that VNR is “more agile and has a shorter turning radius.” He said fleets in the tank truck, bulk hauling and food distribution sectors should be impressed with VNR.

“We got more orders for the new VNR in the six weeks after we introduced it than we got for VNMs for all of 2016,” Koeck said.

“There is a big untapped potential for us in regional haul,” Koeck said.

He also said the company needs to do a better job of educating customers on how to spec a truck. Developing specifications from the ground up is particularly important.

“Educating on the value of a truck when correctly spec’ed is important. We can do more on this. Things are much more complex today than before,” Koeck said.

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Volvo sees connectivity, electricity, automation shaping trucking's future

Neil Abt, Fleet Owner  /  September 25, 2017

ATLANTA. Volvo Trucks said it is having a strong year, with several updates to its truck lineup and the recent opening of a new customer center.

However, much of the focus at its Sept. 25 media event at the North American Commercial Vehicle show was not about the present, but what is to come.

“The future is coming faster than we all expect,” said Goran Nyberg, president of Volvo Trucks.

The growth of connectivity, electro-mobility, and automation will all have a “dramatic influence” on transportation, said Keith Brandis, Volvo’s director of product planning.

Brandis said Volvo is obtaining data on 600,000 connected vehicles across its global brands in the ongoing effort to increase the uptime of all its vehicles. By leveraging connectivity, fleets are now able to tailor vehicle parameters to different types of hauls or terrains.

“We are just now at the beginning of this very exciting area,” Brandis said. “Being connected is the key enabler.”

Nyberg compared the latest developments in truck connectivity with the smart phone, noting that no one would purchase a particular phone if it needed to be brought into a store each time there was a recommended software update.

On a separate topic, Brandis said that while “diesel is still a very energy efficient fuel,” there is no question that electric powertrain systems will continue to rapidly develop.

Electric trucks will generally be aimed for city deliveries, although there will be more experiments in regional haul. Brandis said. That will be especially attractive in areas of the world where fuel is up to three times more expensive than the United States.

While Brandis cautioned a lack of electric infrastructure is one of the challenges that need to be resolved, Nyberg declared “electrification is coming.”

Automation is also advancing, as Volvo and other manufacturers develop systems aimed at assisting the truck driver to be safer and more productive.

With platooning and autonomous driving, there are “challenges we as engineers admit we have not figured out,” Brandis said.

But significant strides in these areas are being made, such as Volvo’s involvement in a recent truck platooning demonstration in Virginia.

The Volvo officials called for federal oversight to promote further progress in this area, a step needed to avoid a piecemeal of state regulations. That sentiment was recently shared by other trucking industry officials during a Senate hearing.

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Volvo eyes trucking’s future with 2017 product updates

James Jaillet, Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ)  /  September 25, 2017

In a year that’s seen the company roll out two updated tractors and a futuristic concept tractor-trailer, Volvo Trucks North America said Monday it’s readying itself for the future of freight transportation. In a press update held at the North American Commercial Vehicle Show, Volvo recapped its busy year of updates, offering a bird’s eye perspective of what the new technology means for the trucking industry and its future.

The company unveiled this year a refreshed VNL tractor for the long-haul market and a new tractor, the VNR, targeting the regional-haul segment. In March, the company debuted its SuperTruck tractor-trailer, a $40 million venture built via a partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy.

The Volvo SuperTruck achieved a 12 mpg average, and Volvo brought features developed as part of the SuperTruck’s research and development to its current product line. Its 2017 D13 engine brings 7.5 percent better fuel efficiency than its 2014 predecessor, said Volvo’s Magnus Koeck, VP of Marketing. The engine leans on features like turbo compounding, a form of waste heat recovery, and wave pistons to achieve its fuel economy gains.

The long-haul tractor powered by the D13, Volvo’s new VNL, also “takes another step” in fuel efficiency, says Koeck. “This isn’t a 6 mpg truck anymore,” Koeck says of the sculpted aerodynamic unit. The VNL also features new exterior stylings, like an updated grille, and a refreshed and driver-focused interior. The company will be showing off the new VNL in a truck stop tour taking place between Oct. 3 and Oct. 14 in select truck stops across North America.

Take rates on the company’s powertrain package, which combines the D13 and the I-Shift automated-manual transmission, are close to 95 percent, says Koeck. Take rates on the I-Shift alone are upwards of 90 percent. “Those are strong numbers,” he said. “They’re hard to beat.”

Volvo also said it’s pressing to connect more Volvo trucks to its Remote Programming platform, which allows over-the-air software updates and engine repogramming. The system aims to cut downtime and make it easier for Volvo trucks and engines to maintain up-to-date software. Currently, about 135,000 trucks are connected to the system, says Volvo.

The company made its remote diagnostics system standard in 2012. It launched the remote programming element earlier this year.

Eyeing the future of transportation, Volvo’s Keith Brandis said the company is investing in three key technology areas — connectivity, electrification and automation — as well as the convergence of the three, which will create a “dramatical future,” says Brandis.

Such technologies are still in a fledgling state, says Brandis, and much work needs to be done in the public and private sector before these systems come to market. But technologies like electrification, automation and connectivity can solve some of transportation’s most pressing issues, such as congestion and gridlock, as well as safety.

“The future is coming and it’s coming fast,” says Volvo Trucks’ President Goran Nyberg. “We’re excited to find new ways to improve efficiency, safety and, above all, the productivity of the industry.”

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Volvo Trucks’ Nyberg gives business update at NACV Show

Truck News  /  September 25, 2017

ATLANTA, Ga. — Volvo Trucks couldn’t have picked a better year to unveil its new VNL series.

That’s the message it delivered at the inaugural North American Commercial Vehicle (NACV) this week in Atlanta, Ga.

The company, which just unveiled its new VNL series in July, said business this year has been great and it predicts that the long haul, regional, and construction industries will continue to improve in the future. Volvo Trucks’ president, Nyberg took the opportunity at the truck show to give trucking journalists a business update and explain what is in the pipeline for Volvo in the near future.

“It couldn’t have been a better year to go to market with a totally new product range,” he said. “Looking at the business environment, we are bouncing back in the industry, we have a strong labor market and we can see the GDP is getting strong in all three North American countries. We can see GDP growth over 2%, which is a good sign the industry sector is going well.”

Diesel prices, he noted, have stayed on a good level and predicts that prices will only see a slight uptick in the future.

“NAFTA class 8 trucks market is estimated to be at 225,000 trucks this year, but I wouldn’t be surprised if those numbers come in slightly stronger,” he said. “We have had a couple of years now, where volumes of trucks have declined, going forward we believe we have a few years of a growing marketplace.”

Nyberg addressed that from 2016-2017, it saw a 5% drop in the long-haul segment.

“That of course has been a bit painful for Volvo Trucks but the forecast looks pretty good, and the highway business is coming back stronger,” he said.

He also predicted that natural gas trucks truck sales will be stagnant.

“We always talk about natural gas, but as you have seen with fuel prices, natural gas has gone sideways and I expect it to continue that way,” he said.

Nyberg added that to date, Volvo Trucks has reached its all-time high take rate of iShift and Volvo Power – 95% and 90% respectively.

“Globally, we are a company that trades in almost 200 countries and our goal is clear — to be the world’s most preferred truck brand in the industry,” he said. “In North America, we are on a good pace and we are really looking forward to harvest all the benefits and opportunities that come with our product range.”

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Volvo Trucks Sees One Strong Year Leading into Another

Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT)  /  September 25, 2017

ATLANTA-- Alluding to Volvo’s rollout of not one but two new trucks in the past few month, Volvo Trucks North America President Göran Nyberg kicked off the company’s presser here at the North American Commercial Vehicle Show on Sept. 25 by declaring “it’s a great year to introduce a new truck.”

Nyberg said that’s because market conditions remain strong, with the OEM forecasting a NAFTA Class 8 market of 225,000 units for this year. He added that he “would not be surprised” if that figure ended up higher. Nyberg also said he's currently predicting that “next year, [truck] sales will be stronger” than in 2017.

“The highway business has come back in a strong way,” he said, xplaining what is driving the Class 8 market. “And manufacturing is coming back and construction spending is up, too.”

He said a strong labor market coupled with a rise in consumer spending is driving GDP growth. Nyberg added that the “rebounding manufacturing sector” is expected to see moderate growth next year while construction spending—already at “an all-time high”-- will continue to gradually increase. On top of that, he pointed out that diesel prices ae low and forecast to rise only slightly in 2018.

Nyberg said market growth was being supported by Volvo and its dealers. He said the OEM now has a dealership count of “420 and growing” and said dealers have together invested $600 million since 2010 to grow their parts and service capabilities.

He said these investments have to date yielded 65 added locations as well as a 51% increase in bay capacity; 80% in service capacity; 116% in technicians; and a whopping 312% in master techs. He added that there are “another 13 dealer locations in the pipeline.”

Magnus Koeck, vice president of marketing and brand management, highlighted the OEM’s introductions earlier this year of its new regional tractor, the Volvo VNR, and its new flagship linehauler, the Volvo VNL.

Both trucks boast an array of new technological features and the VNL stands out as the company’s first all-new highway tractor in 20 years. Indeed, a Volvo executive told HDT that the rollouts of those two trucks amounted to the “introduction of the next 10 years” of heavy-duty truck design.

Koeck noted that the VNL was “designed with the driver in mind,” with that effort including conducting interviews with 2,000 drivers to help inform the layout and features of the new truck. 

“The future is coming faster than any of us are expecting it,” said Nyberg, who advised that he see electric power “coming first to light and medium trucks. “For sure,” he added, “we are looking at all options [for powering trucks]. But for the foreseeable future, heavy trucks will continue to be based on the proven diesel.” 

At the NACV show, Volvo also announced that the interiors of its Volvo VHD 300 daycab and VHD 400 regional sleeper models now feature numerous driver safety and comfort features, including LED lighting, new seating choices, and optimized ergonomic.

The interiors include an all-new dashboard that puts often-used controls within the driver’s reach. Centered in the gauge cluster is a configurable, five-inch color driver information display that provides trip and diagnostic data. The driver information display is customizable, so that critical information is available at a glance. A dash-top tray features 12-volt power and USB connectivity to keep devices fully powered.

VHD models will now also be equipped with the OEM’s smart steering wheel, which places the controls for nearly all of the driver interface functions at a driver’s fingertips. The smart steering wheel is attached to Volvo’s Perfect Position air-assisted, fully adjustable steering column, which enables drivers not only to tilt and telescope the steering column, but also tilt the steering wheel relative to the steering column.

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