Volvo lifts truck-engine compression to 20:1 as new piston design targets lower fuel use
Volvo is lifting the compression ratio of its truck engine from 18:1 to 20:1 and adding dual-wave pistons, a variable-geometry turbocharger and reworked injection for a claimed 4 percent fuel saving.
- 20:1
- 18:1
- up to 4%
- 2,900Nm
What Happened
The new combustion engine from Volvo Trucks raises compression to 20:1 from the outgoing unit's 18:1. Its piston bowl uses two waves, while the rest of the package includes an adjustable turbo and revised fuel metering. Volvo says the changes can cut fuel use by up to 4 percent and deliver 560hp with 2,900Nm of torque.
- 18:1
- 20:1
4%
Volvo says the new engine uses up to 4% less fuel than the one it replaces, counting its latest fuel-saving features.
The platform's top rating reaches 560hp and 2,900Nm. Europe, Morocco, Turkey and India are the first markets named for the rollout.
Why this matters
Fuel is a fleet's biggest running cost, so a claimed 4 percent cut matters to haulage operators buying trucks in the launch markets Volvo has named. Those first markets are Europe, Morocco, Turkey and India.
Terms in This Story
- compression ratio
- How much the cylinder volume shrinks as the piston rises; a higher ratio generally means the engine extracts more work from the same fuel.
- variable-geometry turbocharger
- A turbocharger whose internal vanes adjust so boost can be tuned across the engine's speed range.
- torque
- The twisting force an engine sends to the driveline, measured here in newton-metres (Nm).
A brief summary; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.