Volvo’s new concept truck will have accountants in long-haul operations doing complicated mental arithmetic and salivating uncontrollably.
The Swedish company has managed to chop over a third off the fuel consumption in its FH 420-based concept truck.
The imaginatively-named Volvo Concept truck was built with support from Sweden’s official energy agency as the culmination of a five-year research project to create more energy-efficient vehicles.
Construction focused around aerodynamic slipperiness and light-weight materials.
“We continuously work on developing more energy-efficient vehicles,” says Volvo truck boss Claes Nilsson.
“This is a high-priority area both out of environmental concern and in order to reduce our customers’ costs. We’re proud to be able to drive this development. Our concept truck showcases the immense power of on-going technical advances.
The concept vehicle demonstrates that it is possible to drastically boost productivity in long-haul operations purely by rethinking the basics of truck design.
With support from the Swedish Energy Agency, Volvo Trucks has developed a new concept vehicle, the Volvo Concept Truck. It is the result of a five year long research project aimed at creating more energy-efficient vehicles. The new concept truck cuts fuel consumption by more than 30 %.
“We’ve modified the entire rig and optimised it for improved aerodynamics as much as possible. For instance, we use cameras instead of rear-view mirrors. This cuts air resistance, so less energy is needed to propel the truck,” says project manager Åke Othzen.
The entire truck has been aero-optimised, mirrors replaced by cameras, chassis side-skirts that cover the rear wheels on both tractor and trailer and spoilers that not only make the blunt front of the truck cut through air more efficiently but improve airflow for the Euro 6-compliant D13 engine’s cooling system. Even the wheel housings and entry steps have been given the treatment.
In addition to the aerodynamic improvements, the concept vehicle is fitted with purposed-developed low rolling resistance tyres.
The trailer is a massive two tonne lighter than the development base – meaning either less fuel burn or higher payload.
Cutting a third of the fuel consumption is a bottom-line boon, but the project isn’t quite there yet – the goal of the industry-changing project is to improve long-haul transport efficiency by 50%.
Work on the Volvo Concept Truck has been in progress since 2011. The aim is to improve the efficiency for long-haul truck transportation by 50 %.
By now the beancounters are probably shaking uncontrollably and muttering about balance sheets and cost over life – but the concept isn’t going to be offered for sale.
On the accountancy bright side though, Volvo says it has already implemented some of the aero features on series-produced trucks, and that it will be adopting more of the project’s learnings in future products.
