The Volvo Group to launch natural gas engine for the North American market

The Volvo Group will launch a 13-liter liquefied natural gas (LNG) engine within
the Volvo brand for the North American market 2014. The engine’s high pressure
diesel ignition technology will provide significant fuel efficiency gains
compared with current natural gas products.
Combined with the group’s previously announced offering of compressed natural
gas (CNG)-powered Volvo VNM and Volvo VNL model daycabs, the new engine will
provide customers with a complete range of natural gas-powered transportation
solutions. Within the Volvo brand another fuel is being tested that can be
produced from natural gas, DME (dimethyl ether), which has the potential to
become an attractive alternative for the North American market.

“Despite the near-term infrastructure questions regarding widespread adoption of
natural gas as a heavy-duty truck fuel, it’s clear this segment will grow over
the next several years,” said Ron Huibers, president of Volvo Trucks North
American Sales & Marketing.

Through advanced high pressure diesel ignition technology – using trace amounts
of diesel to ignite the natural gas – Volvo’s LNG engine will deliver a 30
percent fuel efficiency improvement compared with spark-ignition (SI) engines,
making it a viable alternative for demanding long-haul applications. The Volvo
13-liter LNG engine will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 20
percent compared with current diesel products.

The Volvo Group was the number one supplier of 13-liter heavy-duty engines to
the combined U.S. and Canadian market last year, and the same vertically
integrated approach that has made Volvo a global powertrain leader is being
applied to the development of the new engine. The company’s proprietary Volvo I
-Shift automated mechanical transmission also will be available for customers to
specify.

The Volvo Group has also conducted field tests of trucks equipped with DME. The
strong results – from ten vehicles operating in a variety of applications in
Europe – indicate DME holds much promise as a heavy-truck fuel, and could become
a viable alternative in North America to CNG or LNG when it comes to
performance, environmental impact, safety and distribution.

“Since we adopted Environmental Care as a core value in 1970s, the Volvo Group
has dedicated the resources necessary to lead in alternative fuel technologies,”
Huibers said. “We demonstrated in 2007 our ability to run vehicles on seven
different fuels, and we continue to refine our work with a variety alternative
fuels and drivelines. Our comprehensive strategy – including CNG, LNG, and
potentially DME – means we’ll have a complete range of natural gas solutions as
the infrastructure develops.”

May 21, 2012

Reporters who want more information, please contact Mårten Wikforss, +46 31 66
11 27 or +46 705-59 11 49

For more stories from the Volvo Group, please visit
http://www.volvogroup.com/globalnews.

The Volvo Group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of trucks, buses and
construction equipment, drive systems for marine and industrial applications and
aerospace components. The Group also provides complete solutions for financing
and service. The Volvo Group, which employs about 115,000 people, has production
facilities in 20 countries and sells their products in more than 190 markets. In
2011 annual sales of the Volvo Group amounted to about SEK 310 billion. The
Volvo Group is a publicly-held company headquartered in Göteborg, Sweden. Volvo
shares are listed on OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm. For more information, please
visit www.volvogroup.com or www.volvogroup.mobi if you are using your mobile
phone