Volvo FE

The FE is a Volvo city truck sold as a two- or three-axle rigid and as a 4x2 tractor. Volvo calls it “Your versatile city truck”, names deliveries, construction and waste collection among its assignments, and says it “is a bit wider and can carry more load than the Volvo FL” — the Volvo FL, which Volvo presented beside it on 22 May 2006. This page describes the diesel FE with the 7.7-litre D8K engine, as Volvo Trucks UK lists it on its FE specification page, read on 14 October 2026. The figures come from that UK page; from the five Great Britain model range data sheets for the diesel FE that it links, all dated 17 February 2026; from Volvo’s UK and global FE pages; from the FE product guide, publication 10054, which carries no printed date (its file was created on 24 October 2018); and from Volvo press releases, each dated where it is used. The battery-electric FE Electric and the gas-powered FE CNG, which Volvo lists under the same model, are described briefly in their own sections.

Overview and generations

AB Volvo’s release of 22 May 2006 presented the FL and the FE as “two completely new distribution trucks”, both meeting Euro 4 and Euro 5. Volvo’s history page for the 2000s lists the model as “FE - 2006”: a heavy-duty truck for local or regional distribution, construction-site transport and services such as refuse collection, built with two or three axles and one or two driven rear axles, in three chassis heights, with the D7E engine “from 240 up to 320 hp” and all-synchronised six- or nine-speed gearboxes or an automatic. Volvo’s 2010s page gives the FE of that decade three cabs, gross weights between 18 and 26 tonnes and Euro 5 compliance in its standard configuration, and describes the FE Hybrid, with a 7.2-litre engine of 300 or 340 hp and I-Shift, as “Volvo’s first series-manufactured hybrid vehicle”. No document opened gives the date on which series production of the 2006 truck began.

AB Volvo’s release of 14 May 2013 introduced “the new Volvo FE and Volvo FL”, with an enhanced driver environment, the six-cylinder D8 of 7.7 litres at 250, 280 or 320 hp meeting Euro 6, I-Shift as a new option on the FE, and ESP “now fitted as standard” on both models. Volvo’s release of 13 March 2018 added a two-seat low-entry cab with an engine tunnel, made gas engines available “for all Volvo FE cab and chassis combinations”, offered Adaptive Cruise Control and an Adjustable Speed Limiter, and gave the diesel range as 250 to 350 hp. On 14 November 2023 Volvo presented updated FL and FE models with “a revamped front end, distinct LED headlights and a boosted iron mark as well as the Volvo wordmark in the front” and, for their diesel, gas and electric versions alike, slimmer exterior mirrors and additional safety systems, with customer deliveries starting in the first half of 2024. The GB data sheets of February 2026 list an optional “New Sleeper cab - build in or after week 9 2024”.

Cabs

Volvo UK’s specification page lists four cabs, each with an interior height of 1,605 mm and a width of 2,300 mm:

The comfort cab can take a bed for one person or serve as office space with extra storage; the sleeper cab has a bed for one. Volvo UK offers the bed in one or two pieces, 580 or 780 mm wide. The low-entry cab has a low instep, room for “one or up to three belted passengers” and a 90-degree door opening, is offered with a foldable passenger door, and comes with either a flat floor or an engine tunnel. Volvo’s FE pages say it “goes as low as 440 mm”; the March 2018 release gives an entry height of 530 mm, or 440 mm with the kneeling function, on 315/70R22.5 tyres, and the product guide says kneeling lowers the step by a further 90 mm. On the GB data sheets the day cab, “with steel safety cage design” and “Designed and built to Swedish impact and ECE R29 regulations”, is standard on all five; the comfort and sleeper cabs are options on all five; the two low-entry cabs — “2 person with engine tunnel” and “4 person” — are options on the FE 42 R A and FE 62TR A sheets only.

The cab sits on mechanical suspension, with coil springs and shock absorbers, or on air bellows front and rear. The driver’s seat comes in three levels (Comfort, Standard and Economy), the passenger seat in three (Standard, Economy and Basic). The steering wheel is 460 or 500 mm in diameter and adjusts pneumatically. Heating is manual, with or without air conditioning, and a 2 kW parking heater is an option. The roof hatch, in glass or steel, opens 50 millimetres; above the windscreen are two storage units and four DIN compartments. Volvo UK lists 300 fixed cab colours.

Engine

Volvo UK lists one diesel engine for the FE, the D8, a six-cylinder of 7.7 litres, in four steps. Volvo UK heads the table “Net output according to: EC 582/2011”, the net basis explained in reading truck power figures.

The five GB data sheets and the product guide give the 350 hp step its maximum power at 2,100 rpm, not 2,200. The sheets give the engines no kW figures; their other power, torque and engine-speed figures are those of the table. The D8K250 is the standard engine on the FE 42 R A, FE 42 R L and FE 62TR A sheets, while the FE 42 T A tractor and the FE 64 R B 6x4 sheets list no 250 hp step and make the D8K280 standard; the 320 and 350 hp engines are options on all five. Volvo marks the 320 hp step “available with B100, biodiesel”; the product guide says every D8K is certified for HVO to EN15940 and that a D8K320 variant runs on pure RME B100.

Volvo UK gives the D8 a 110 mm bore, a 135 mm stroke, a 17.5:1 compression ratio and an economy band of 1,000–1,700 r/min; one oil filter, a 25.5-litre oil change including the filter, a 17-litre cooling system, and an oil change interval of up to 120,000 km or two years with VDS5. Its fuel prerequisite is EN 590 diesel with at most 10 ppm sulphur. The page gives the engine as Euro 6 with no step; every GB diesel sheet lists “Euro VI step E” as standard. The product guide describes common-rail injection at up to 2,000 bar, a variable-geometry turbocharger and an aftertreatment that combines SCR with a water-cooled EGR system and a diesel particulate filter.

The exhaust brake delivers 120 kW and the optional compression brake 170 kW, both at 2,800 r/min; the GB sheets make the exhaust brake, controlled by a steering-column switch, standard and the compression brake an option on all five. How exhaust brakes, compression brakes and retarders differ is set out in retarders and engine braking.

Volvo FE CNG

Volvo’s global FE page lists a gas-powered FE CNG beside the diesel truck, at 320 hp and with a combination weight of 18 to 28 tonnes. Its own page describes a spark-ignition engine running on compressed natural gas or compressed biogas, with 320 hp and 1,356 Nm, an automatic transmission, a three-way catalyst and “No SCR, EGR or Adblue”, and two times four or two times three gas tanks on both sides of the chassis, for a range of up to 400 km in light delivery work and up to 250 km in waste collection. The March 2018 release names the engine the G9K, Euro 6, at 320 hp; the product guide gives the G9K320 an output of 235 kW at 2,200 r/min and 1,356 Nm at 1,300–1,400 r/min, from 9 litres, with a six-speed automatic. Volvo UK’s FE page lists the FE Electric and the diesel FE, and no FE CNG.

Transmission

Volvo UK lists two gearboxes, each offered with all four engine steps: the I-Shift AT2412, a 12-speed splitter and range gearbox with automated gear changing and a direct top gear, rated at 2,400 Nm with a GCW approval of 44 tonnes; and the AL306 six-speed automatic, operated by push buttons on the instrument panel, at 1,300 Nm and 32 tonnes. I-Shift can be fitted with a compact retarder, a power take-off and an oil cooler; how an automated manual works is explained separately. Volvo UK’s Volvo FM specification page lists an AT2412 with the same 2,400 Nm and 44-tonne figures.

The GB data sheets list the I-Shift as the AT2412F, “suitable for gross train weights up to 44tonne”, as an option on the tractor, the 6x2 and the 6x4 sheets but not on the two 4x2 rigid sheets; the “Allison AL306 6-speed automatic gearbox” as an option on all four rigid sheets but not on the tractor; and, on the 6x4 sheet only, the ZTO1109 “Manual 9-speed range change overdrive”. None of the five sheets marks a gearbox as standard. The sheets offer three I-Shift software packages — basic, Distribution and Construction, and Fuel & economy — and single-plate clutches of 395 mm and 430 mm. The product guide, whose file dates from October 2018, lists the AT2412F at 2,400 Nm and 44 tonnes, two manuals, the six-speed ZTO1006 (1,050 Nm, 32 tonnes) and the nine-speed ZTO1109 (1,200 Nm, 44 tonnes), and the AL306 at 1,500 Nm and 32 tonnes, where the UK page gives the AL306 1,300 Nm.

For the AL306 Volvo UK lists a compact hydraulic retarder mounted on the gearbox, with a braking torque of 1,490 Nm; three of the sheets list it as a “Retarder for automatic gearbox”. The engine-mounted power take-offs PTER-DIN, PTER-1400 and PTER-100 deliver 600 Nm at a 1:1 ratio, driving or standing still, but “With AT2412 max. torque while driving = 150 Nm”. Gearbox-mounted units come with a flange or a pump connection, and the dual-drive PTRD-D1D, which the sheets describe as twin outputs for I-Shift, a flange at 550 Nm and a pump connection at 1,000 Nm. The sheets also list live-drive power take-offs on the Allison gearbox’s torque converter at 400 or 600 Nm.

Axles, suspension and brakes

The five GB diesel sheets cover a 4x2 tractor on rear air suspension (FE 42 T A), a 4x2 rigid on rear air (FE 42 R A) or steel springs (FE 42 R L), a 6x2 rigid with a tag axle on rear air (FE 62TR A) and a 6x4 rigid on a “B-ride rear three spring bogie” (FE 64 R B). Volvo UK’s FE model page summarises the range as “4x2, 6x2 or 6x4 rigid trucks” and, further down, as a “Rigid or tractor chassis with two or three axles”. The notation is explained in axle configurations explained.

Volvo UK gives three nominal chassis heights — Low at about 880 mm, Med at about 950 mm and High at about 1,050 mm — and the same front axle ratings at each: 7.1, 7.5 or 8 tonnes on air suspension and 9 tonnes on leaf springs. On the sheets a two-leaf parabolic front suspension is standard throughout and air an option on the FE 42 R A and FE 62TR A; the standard front axle is 7.1 tonnes on the tractor and the air-suspended 4x2 rigid, 7.5 tonnes on the steel-sprung 4x2 and 8.0 tonnes on the two three-axle sheets. Tag axles are fixed with single or dual wheels or actively steered, at 6.7, 7.1, 7.5 or 10.5 tonnes; on the 6x2 sheet the standard is a fixed tag axle on single tyres with a lift and a 19-tonne bogie, with twin tyres, electro-hydraulic steering and a 21-tonne bogie as options.

Across the five axles the published ratios run from 2.47:1 to 7.21:1. Volvo UK’s powertrain table marks the RTS2370A tandem against the 280, 320 and 350 hp engines but not the 250 hp. On the data sheets the RSS1344E, “design GCW 44 tonne”, is the standard drive axle on the four single-drive sheets, with the RSS1344C as an option and the 13-tonne hub-reduction RSH1370F, “design GCW 70 tonne”, as a further option on the 4x2 and 6x2 rigids; the 6x4 has the 23-tonne RTS2370A tandem with differential and cross locks. On the sheets the frame section is 266 or 300 mm high, with a web and flange 7 or 8 mm thick. Volvo UK’s rear suspension table lists parabolic springs (RAD-L90) and air (RAD-KR) on the 4x2 at 13 tonnes, air with a fixed or steered tag axle (RADT-KR) on the 6x2 at 19 or 20 tonnes, and air (RAPD-BR) on the 6x4 at 23 tonnes.

EBS is standard on every specification. Volvo UK’s EBS Medium package adds a Hill Start Aid and ESC, which brakes each wheel individually and “is available for 2- and 3-axle vehicles”; on the GB sheets EBS Standard is standard except on the 6x2, where EBS Medium “including traction control & hill hold” is. The 14 May 2013 release had said ESP was “now fitted as standard” on the FE. The product guide describes disc brakes on every wheel.

Dimensions and weights

Each GB data sheet gives the weights of its own vehicle and says that “Legal weights can differ from country to country.” Every GB sheet prints a plated weight beside a design weight; the variant table above carries the plated ones.

The front axle is plated at 7,100 kg on all five sheets, against design figures of 7,100 kg on the tractor and the air-suspended 4x2, 7,500 kg on the steel-sprung 4x2 and 8,000 kg on the three-axle trucks; the rear axle of the 4x2s is plated at 11,500 kg against 13,000 kg, and the bogies at 17,985 kg (6x2) and 19,000 kg (6x4) against 19,000 and 21,000 kg. The sheets base their figures on 295/80R22.5 tyres all round. Turning circles kerb to kerb run from 12,800 mm at the 3,500 mm wheelbase to 23,000 mm. Volvo UK’s FE model page summarises the range as “Combination weight: 18–26 tonnes”, while the tractor sheet plates a combination weight of 32,000 kg. The terms are set out in truck weights: GVW and GCW. The product guide gives a wheelbase range of 3,200 to 6,800 mm “depending on the vehicle model and axle configuration”.

Fuel and AdBlue tanks

Volvo UK lists fuel tanks in plastic, steel or aluminium from 160 to 630 litres, with D-shaped tanks in two heights, 560 mm and 710 mm. On the sheets the standard tank is a right-hand aluminium D-shaped tank 560 mm high: 220 litres on the tractor, whose sheet gives a maximum of 405 litres; 255 litres on the two 4x2 rigids, 315 litres on the 6x2 and 160 litres on the 6x4, each with a maximum of 630 litres. The AdBlue tank is plastic, holds 32 litres and has the pump integrated in the tank module; it sits on the right as standard, and on the left as an option on three of the rigid sheets.

FE Electric

Volvo presented the FE Electric on 8 May 2018, “designed for heavier city distribution and refuse transport operations with gross weights of up to 27 tonnes”, with European sales from 2019; the first, a refuse truck with a Faun body, was to start work in Hamburg in early 2019. Volvo UK’s FE specification page now lists the “Medium Duty Electric” FE at up to 225 kW (300 hp) continuous power, a range of up to 275 km, 280–375 kWh in three or four batteries, and a full charge in 8 hours on AC at 43 kW or 2.3 hours on DC at 150 kW; Volvo UK’s FE Electric page adds two electric motors with a two-speed gearbox, 4x2 and 6x2 rigids with all axles air-suspended, and a combination weight of up to 27 tonnes. Volvo’s global FE Electric page gives up to 28 tonnes and “3 to 8 batteries”. Volvo UK also links two battery-electric data sheets of 17 February 2026, FE 42 R E and FE 62TR E, plated at 18,000 kg and 26,000 kg gross vehicle weight. Volvo’s release of 9 December 2025 says its new batteries are available “up to Volvo FE Electric versions with a GCW of up to 26 tonnes”.

Safety and driver-assistance systems

Volvo’s FE pages describe driver support systems “fulfilling or exceeding the European General Safety Regulations”, cameras at the rear and on the passenger side, Front Short Range Assist and Side Collision Avoidance Support, and a front-looking radar, a front-looking camera and side radars. The release of 14 November 2023 added Vulnerable Road User Detection, Side Collision Avoidance Support and Driver Alert Support, and offered a 360-degree bird’s-eye camera and a side-view camera. All five GB sheets list as standard Driver Alert Support with driver attention monitoring “to comply with EU GSR2 step 2 regulations”, intelligent speed assistance with road sign recognition and a smart tachograph. The product guide describes Electronic Stability Control, Lane Keeping Support, an Adjustable Speed Limiter, radar-based Adaptive Cruise Control with collision warning and emergency braking, Front, Rear and Side Underrun Protection, a reinforced cab and seatbelts integrated into the seats.

Equipment and bodybuilding

The upper hole row of the frame is reserved for the bodybuilder, with brackets offset on an 8 millimetre spacer and no rivets. Crane plates can be fitted at the factory, and the crane preparation kit moves the battery box rearwards and adds the ELCRANE electrical kit. The tractor takes an ISO fifth wheel, with a flange-mounted variant that needs no attachment plate, at a height above the chassis “from around 150 millimetres”. The GB sheets offer refuse-body preparation on the two 4x2 rigids, tipper preparation on all four rigids, a tail-lift preparation kit, a high-mounted tow member rated at D=190 kN and Ringfeder or Rockinger couplings, and two 170 Ah or 225 Ah batteries with a 110 A alternator. Refuse collection, which Volvo names among the FE’s assignments, and its bodies are described in refuse collection vehicles.

Source notes

The combination weight above belongs to one named vehicle: the FE818 4x2 tractor on rear air suspension, plated in Great Britain at 18,000 kg gross vehicle and 32,000 kg gross combination, against design figures of 20,100 kg and 32,000 kg. The four rigid data sheets plate 18,000 kg (FE 42 R A and FE 42 R L), 25,085 kg (FE 62TR A) and 26,000 kg (FE 64 R B) gross vehicle weight against design figures of 20,100, 20,500, 27,000 and 29,000 kg; the two 4x2 rigids print 0 as their plated combination weight. Volvo UK’s FE model page summarises the range as “Combination weight: 18–26 tonnes”. The 350 hp D8 has its maximum power at 2,200 r/min on the UK specification page and at 2,100 r/min on all five GB data sheets and in the product guide, so no rated speed is recorded. The UK specification page gives the AL306 automatic a maximum torque of 1,300 Nm, the product guide 1,500 Nm. None of the five GB diesel data sheets marks a gearbox as standard equipment.