Volvo's heavy-duty electric truck line-up includes the FH, FM and FMX.

The Volvo FM Electric has been spotted testing on Indian roads. We can think of two possibilities – either Volvo is looking to introduce its pure-electric range of commercial vehicles in India or the prototype may have been imported for component testing purposes.

Volvo's heavy-duty electric truck line-up includes the FH, FM and FMX. We believe the prototype testing in India is the FM Electric.

The FM Electric comes in various axle configurations in Tractor or Rigid versions. It has a gross combined weight of up to 44 tonnes.

The FM Electric can be configured with 2-3 electric motors depending on the variant. It offers a continuous power output of 443 – 657 BHP. Depending on the number of batteries installed, the capacity ranges between 180-540 kWh.

Volvo claims a maximum range of up to 300 km on a single charge. The battery can be charged in 9.5 hours using a 43 kW AC charger or in 2.5 hours using a 250 kW DC charger.

Thanks to Ram Gopal for sending these images in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing them with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP share page!

It is a 1:8 Pocher Kit which is quite rare as they have not been made since the mid-90s.

BHPian Jeroen recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

As some of you know I like to fiddle with things. Be it my cars, my bicycles or other things. One of the things I like is to build model engines. I have shared some of my builds over the years on the forum. They vary from simple plastic builds to complete self made metal/brass working engine models.

Just a taste of what I have done in the past, Betty the mighty V8. Next to it sits a VW Beetle Air cooled engine.

At the front, my first self built oscillating steam engine.

This here is my masterpiece, Debbie the Two Stroke engine. I did a dedicated thread on this build.

And my current engine build project. A Scuderi engine. Which means it has two pistons/cylinders. Compression takes place in one piston/cylinder, ignition and expansion take place in the second set of piston/cylinder. Coming along nicely!

This thread is about another plastic model engine I recently finished building. It is a Pocher Kit, 1:8 of a truck engine, the well-known Volvo F16.

Pocher did a few other engines too:

These kits have not been made since the mid-90s! So I was very surprised to come across one with my friend and model car collector supreme Berndt. He had bought it, because he knew it was very rare. He was kind enough to pass it on to me. Berndt is always trawling the internet for (model) cars and I have asked him to keep an eye open for any more of these Pocher model engines.

Pocher kits have a reputation for being high quality and extremely detailed. That is not necessarily true for all their kits. It is true for their famous 1:8 classic cars kit cars, all metal. But their smaller plastic kits are not all that great. But as you will see, you can still make a very nice model out of it, with some patience.

It is a very simple kit to put together.

It took me about 3-4 hours to put this engine all together. One thing is how large this model is!

Although Pocher tells you the model does not require painting, it is very clear that painting will really improve the overall look of the model. So I trawled the internet to find some ready-made and painted versions of this particular kit. Sure enough, there are several out there and I got some very good ideas for the painting, colour-wise and some other details as you will see.

I printed some of the stuff I found on the internet, to have it as an easy reference whilst working on mine. Notice the engine stand? The Pocher kit comes with four pieces of metal wire, this guy improved on it considerably. But it gave me an even better idea as you will see.

You might notice this guy had very nice details on the oil/fuel filters. After checking I found I could order these decals on Ebay! Very cheap, but as you will see it makes a big difference on the overall look of the finished model.

This guy did a phenomenal job of adding also all the high-pressure fuel lines. As you will see I have not done that, but I might give it a go later. I have already bought the correct metal wire!

So I bought myself some model kit paint and started painting.

I thought the painting did smart up the model considerably. But I did not like the shiny new look, so I decided to “dirty” up the model, to make it look a bit more realistic/used.

I came across this special paint, known as panel line accent.

Very runny, very easy to apply and it really brings out lots of details.

Look at how these valve covers look!!

Continue reading about Jeroen's model engine building for BHPian comments, insights and more information.

VECV plans to invest close to Rs 1,500 crore in the next 3 years.

According to a media report, Eicher Motors and the Volvo Group could spin off a separate EV unit as part of their Indian joint venture - VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV).

It is said that VECV is developing 9-metre and 12-metre electric buses. The company is also planning to enter the electric truck segment and is reportedly developing products in the 5-tonne and 55-tonne categories.

VECV plans to invest close to Rs 1,500 crore to prepare itself for new regulations and the growing EV demand over the next 3 years. The company will also participate in the tender floated by EESL to purchase 5,000 electric buses.

Source: ET Auto

The Volvo FMX500 gets a passenger corner camera along with the provision for four additional cameras.

Volvo Trucks has announced the launch of the new generation FM and FMX series of trucks in India.

The range of trucks offers an increased cab volume of up to 1,000 litres. The trucks have a large windscreen, lower door lines and new mirrors that are said to improve visibility by 10%.

There's a new I-shift lever, which comes with updated software and additional drive modes. The trucks come with an engine management system and an I-Roll function that can automatically disengage the engine.

The new FM and FMX series of trucks come equipped with an Electronic Braking System (EBS) as well as downhill cruise control. The FMX500 gets a passenger corner camera along with the provision for four additional cameras. It also comes with a 12-inch driver interface.

Volvo Buses India is merging its business with Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles (VECV). Agreements for the transfer have been signed and the transaction is expected to be closed within the next 2 months, once the conditions under the agreement are fulfilled.

At present, Volvo Buses India is a division of Volvo Group India Private Limited (VGIPL). Under the new deal, all assets including the manufacturing plant at Hosakote, assembly, distribution and sale of Volvo buses in India and other rights will be transferred to VECV.

After completion of the transaction, VECV and Volvo Buses India will be merged into a new bus division. The new entity will offer both Volvo and Eicher branded buses. It will also offer products and services for export markets.

At present, Volvo Buses' India portfolio includes the 9400 B8R 4x2 coach and the 9400 B11R 6x2 multi-axle coach. Both models are powered by BS6-compliant diesel engines. Volvo coaches are popular on inter-city routes.

Daimler and Volvo will form a US$ 1.3 billion joint venture to build hydrogen fuel-cell powered trucks. The first hydrogen-powered commercial vehicle (CV) could be launched by the second half of this decade.

According to Daimler, the joint venture would allow both brands to share costs and speed up the development of hydrogen fuel cells for heavy duty vehicles.

Hydrogen-powered electric cars are said to offer a longer range compared to conventional battery-powered vehicles. Refueling them also takes considerably less time compared to recharging electric car batteries.

While there are numerous advantages of using hydrogen fuel-cells to power vehicles, the lack of refueling infrastructure has hampered the growth of this segment.

VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) - the joint venture between Volvo and Eicher, has announced plans to set up a new manufacturing facility in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh with an investment of around Rs. 400 crore.

The facility will have an initial capacity of 40,000 units. The Madhya Pradesh government has already allocated land for the plant and construction is expected to begin soon. The company is aiming to make the factory functional in the next 18 months.

This year, VECV is celebrating 10 years of partnership between the Volvo Group and Eicher Motors. In the last decade, the company registered an average annual growth of 18% with a turnover of Rs. 10,200 crore in 2017-18.

The upcoming factory will be its second manufacturing facility in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The Pithampur facility, near Indore has a capacity of 90,000 units at present.

Luxury carmakers in India have announced their sales numbers for the first half of 2018. Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volvo have registered growth during the period January-June 2018.

Mercedes-Benz sold 8,061 units in H1-2018, its highest ever half yearly sales in India. The carmaker registered a growth of 12.4% during the period of January-June 2018 compared to the same period last year.

According to Mercedes-Benz, the luxury sedan segment comprising of the CLA-Class, C-Class, E-Class, S-Class and Mercedes-Maybach S-Class grew by 15.2% during January-June 2018, while the luxury SUV segment saw growth of 15.9%. These include cars like the GLA-Class, GLS-Class, AMG GLC 43 Coupe, AMG GLE 43 Coupe, AMG GLS 63 and AMG G 63.

BMW delivered 5,171 cars during January-June 2018, registering a growth of 13% compared to 2017. This includes both, BMW and Mini cars. A total of 4,890 BMW cars were sold during this period, which amounts to a growth of 12% compared to last year. Mini sold 281 cars in H1-2018, registering a growth of 30% compared to the same period last year. BMW-Motorrad sold 208 motorcycles in the first half of 2018.

Volvo registered a growth of 33% in January-June 2018 compared to the same period last year. The company registered total sales of 1,242 units out of which, the XC60 accounts for 25%.

Thanks to Prasad Kulkarni for sending these images in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP page!

A test mule of a Volvo intercity bus was recently spotted near Hubli, Karnataka. The test vehicle, marked as chassis no. 180389 might be a facelift version of the Volvo 9400 multi-axle model, which is currently on sale. Apart from the Euro 4 badge near the front door, rest of the badges have been taped off. 

In terms of styling, the bus has a similar front end with black trim in the centre and headlamp clusters on either side. The front bumper has two fog lamps. At the rear, the bus has a black roof spoiler and triple-pod tail lamps.

Currently, Volvo offers 3 variants of the 9400 intercity bus. The base model has an overall length of 12 m and a dual-axle setup. It is powered by a 7.7-litre, 6-cylinder diesel engine that puts out 325 BHP @ 2,200 rpm and peak torque of 1200 Nm @ 1,200-1,600 rpm. The engine is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission.

The 13.8 m version is powered by a 10.8-litre, 6-cylinder diesel engine that makes 365 BHP @ 1,600-1,900 rpm and 1,790 Nm @ 900-1,400 rpm. The 14.5 m variant uses a 10.8-litre, 6-cylinder diesel engine that churns out 404 BHP @ 1,600-1,900 rpm and 1,900 Nm @ 900-1,400 rpm. Both are triple-axle variants and come equipped with a 12-speed I-Shift automated manual gearbox. The spy images suggest that this particular test vehicle is equipped with Volvo's I-Shift 12-speed automated manual transmission.

Funny times, we find ourselves in. In this age of information overload, every brand wants to stand out & gather attention. In what is a first, Volvo's PR team just emailed across pics of its own camouflaged truck being tested.

Email received:
VECV new Vehicle spotted at Indore road VE Commercial Vehicles is currently working on a new multi axle heavy duty truck. A camouflaged Eicher heavy duty tractor was recently seen driving at Indore roads. This soon to be launched new variant bears a distinct appearance and looks more powerful than ever before. This would be a part of the Eicher Pro series of heavy duty trucks, manufactured at their facility in Pithampur.

I predict these are lined up next: 

- Volvo's PR leaks interior pics of the said truck.
- They will then leak the price before its official announcement, along with watermarked pics of the brochure & specs.
- Finally, Volvo PR will write a review of its own truck and share it for publication