Volvo Trucks updates its 13 litre engine with up to 4 percent lower fuel use and more torque
Volvo Trucks is introducing a new platform for its 13 litre internal combustion engines, covering the D13 diesel and G13 gas units. The manufacturer promises up to 4 percent lower fuel consumption, more torque and compatibility with renewable fuels. This is not a revolution, but it makes one thing clear: the heavy truck combustion engine is not leaving quietly.
New D13 and G13 focus on efficiency
Volvo calls the new D13 and G13 the most fuel efficient truck engines in its history. The promised saving of up to 4 percent comes together with the company’s latest fuel saving technologies, not from the engine alone. Real world results will therefore depend on load, route, driving style and equipment.
The D13 diesel covers outputs from 380 to 560 hp, with torque ranging from 1800 to 2900 Nm. The G13 gas engine offers 420 to 500 hp and 2400 to 2800 Nm. Both units are intended for the Volvo FM, FMX, FH and FH Aero ranges.
The combustion engine stays in Volvo’s strategy
The new platform confirms that Volvo is not putting all its weight behind electric trucks alone. In heavy transport, internal combustion will still have a role for a long time, especially where charging infrastructure, routes or duty cycles do not yet favour fully electric operation.
Volvo prepared the new platform for several renewable fuels. The list includes B100 biodiesel, HVO diesel, biogas, also known as bio LNG, and in future green hydrogen. That gives the company a flexible technical base at a time when transport regulations are tightening and customers are looking for practical alternatives alongside fully electric trucks.
More muscle and an updated gearbox
Beyond fuel use, Volvo revised the turbo and cylinder technology and updated the I Shift gearbox. The extra torque should help in long haul work, heavy transport and construction applications.
Some D13 diesel versions work with the I Roll Stop Start function. In suitable conditions, the system switches off the engine and lets the truck coast downhill. It is hardly a dramatic technological leap, but in transport, real savings often come from exactly this sort of small, repeated efficiency gain.
Volvo says the new Euro 6 engines also meet the third phase of the NNR3 noise standards and take account of upcoming regulations. That suggests this platform is not being developed as a short lived bridge technology, but as an engine family with a longer working life ahead of it.
Sales begin at the end of 2026
Sales of the new engines will begin at the end of 2026. The first markets will be Europe, Morocco, Turkey and India. North America, Latin America, Asia and Africa will follow later.
Production will start in Skövde, Sweden. At first, the engines will be installed on Volvo assembly lines in Tuve, Sweden and Ghent, Belgium.
