“A truck that will carry us far into the future.” That is how Claes Nilsson, President of Volvo Trucks, summarises the new versions of the Volvo FH and Volvo FH16 that will be released shortly.
On Wednesday September 5th Volvo Trucks launched new versions of the best-selling Volvo FH and the prestigious Volvo FH16.
“For almost two decades, the Volvo FH Series has provided haulage companies with safety, efficient transport and high quality. Now, with our new replacements, we are going to be even better in all three areas,” says Claes Nilsson, President Volvo Truck Corporation.
Setting a new standard
Never before has Volvo conducted so many tests among drivers and operators with the aim of ensuring that the new model meets the highest requirements. The result is a product that not only meets today’s requirements; it also offers properties that nobody has previously experienced in a truck.
“It really is our customers who have influenced the end-product and I’m convinced that we’re setting a new benchmark for the entire truck industry,” says Claes Nilsson.
“More like a car than a truck”
One prioritised goal in the development process was to create a truck with the market’s best handling. Several structural improvements give the new Volvo FH series a stable and flexible design – something that can be seen in a film entitled ‘The Ballerina Stunt’ on www.volvotrucks.com/fh – where slackline walker Faith Dickey walks a tightrope between two trucks travelling at 80 km/h (50 mph)
“We’ve surpassed our expectations. The Volvo FH is more like a car than a truck when it comes to precise response and confidence-inspiring directional stability,” says Martin Palming, Product Manager at Volvo Trucks.
‘Revolutionary’ front suspension
With the new Volvo FH series comes a new Independent Front Suspension (IFS) system for left-hand drive heavy trucks, initially “The Volvo FH without IFS will be number one on the market, but IFS is all set to revolutionise handling in the truck world. The Volvo FH with IFS will have the world’s best road manners,” says Martin Palming.
Independent front suspension means that each front wheel is suspended separately from the other so it does not affect the movement of the other wheel. Since both front wheels move independently, the result is gentler, more settled progress on the road. Now, because movements are not transmitted from one wheel to the other, the sense of precision and control also increases.
Launch event on September 5th
The world premiere and official launch of the Volvo FH Series was held on September 5th at 9pm CET in Gothenburg with parallel events being held in Madrid, Birmingham, Paris, Rotterdam and Brussels. In addition, the event could be followed live on the Internet, via www.volvotrucks.com/fh Interest in the launch event is immense. For obvious reasons, according to Claes Nilsson. “For more than 15 years now the Volvo FH has been a reliable growth engine for both Volvo Trucks and haulage companies the world over. The new Volvo FH will play the same significant role. It’s an innovative truck that puts the driver in firm focus while at the same time allowing operators to do the best business possible. It’s a truck that’s going to carry us far into the future.”
Volvo
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