France / Sweden - The Volvo FH I-Save, which was launched on the market in June this year, has been returning higher customer fuel economy of between -10 and -12% than the -7% as previously stated by Volvo Trucks, announced Christophe Tharrault, Président de Volvo Trucks France at the Solutrans Show in Lyon last month.

The main reason is the new turbo-compound D13TC 13-litre engine with patented fuel saving features; these include specially shaped pistons to improve combustion and to increase efficiency by guiding the heat and energy right to the centre of the cylinders. The excess energy contained in the exhaust gases is recovered and converted into mechanical energy, transmitted to the engine via a supplementary turbine in the exhaust flow, called the Turbo Compound unit. The D13TC engine also produces up to 300Nm in extra torque from 900 rev/min, meaning less acceleration and less fuel is required to maintain a constant speed on the road. The Volvo FH I-Save also benefits from new low-friction drive axles with axle ratios of 1:2.17, along with the I-See system, which analyses the topography to select the right gear to best exploit the kinetic energy of the vehicle. The improved fuel efficiency and lower noise, predominantly comes from the lower engine speed and axle ratio, which allows long distance trucks to operate at 90 km/hr at 1,000 rev/min.