Volvo FH16

The FH16 is the 16-litre, and since 2024 17-litre, version of Volvo’s FH, built as a tractor unit and as a rigid for heavy transport, timber and quarry work; Volvo Trucks UK calls it “our most powerful truck”. This page describes the generation Volvo launched on 27 February 2020 as it is now sold, with the D17 engine Volvo announced on 30 January 2024 and with the extended-front FH16 Aero cab. It is built from Volvo Trucks UK’s FH16 and FH16 Aero specifications and model pages (read on 14 October 2026), the seventeen FH16 data sheets for Great Britain listed there, all dated 25 September 2026, the FH16 and FH16 Aero infosheets linked from the same pages (PDF files created on 23 January 2024), Volvo’s global FH16 pages, Volvo Trucks South Africa’s FH16 specifications page, and Volvo press releases from 2011 to 2024. The 13-litre truck has its own page, the Volvo FH, as does the battery-electric Volvo FH Aero Electric.

Overview and generations

Volvo’s release of 8 September 2011 traces the FH16’s engine line to the Volvo F16 of 1987, which had Volvo’s first 16-litre engine at 470 hp, and lists the steps since: 520 hp in 1993, the year Volvo Trucks UK gives for the FH16’s launch; “ten years later an all-new engine”, producing 610 hp; 700 hp in 2008; and 750 hp with 3,550 Nm in 2011, from an in-line six with overhead camshaft, four valves per cylinder and unit injectors, in Euro 5 and EEV versions, with production for Europe to begin early in 2012. Volvo’s release of 4 September 2023 says the first FH of 1993 had “a completely new 12 litre engine (16 litre for the Volvo FH16)” and that Volvo has since “launched five further generations” of the truck.

• 7 August 2018. Volvo Trucks UK described the FH16 of that time with the Euro 6 D16K at 550, 650 and 750 hp and 2,900, 3,150 and 3,550 Nm, the Low Sleeper, Standard Sleeper, Globetrotter and Globetrotter XL cabs, an 8x4 heavy-haulage tractor, and dual front axle loads raised from 18 to 20 tonnes.
• 27 February 2020. Launch of the current generation, with V-shaped headlamps, a fully digital 12-inch instrument display, an optional 9-inch side display, five cabs, increased front-axle load capacity, a new 38-tonne bogie, EBS as standard, and the D16K Euro 6 step D at 550 hp and 2,800 Nm, 650 hp and 3,150 Nm, and 750 hp and 3,550 Nm. The two releases give the 550 hp engine different torque: 2,900 Nm in 2018, 2,800 Nm in 2020.
• 4 March 2021. Volvo announced that the new FH, FH16, FM and FMX were entering serial production in Sweden, Belgium and Russia, the Tuve plant in Gothenburg first in March 2021, and that over 12,000 trucks of the new range had been ordered in 2020.
• 29 and 30 January 2024. Volvo announced the FH Aero family, including the FH16 Aero, for roll-out during 2024 and 2025, and the D17 engine for the FH16 and FH16 Aero, with sales from mid-2024 and production from the second half of 2024.

Cab

Volvo offers the FH16 and the FH16 Aero with the same five cabs: Low sleeper, Sleeper, Globetrotter, Globetrotter XL and Globetrotter XXL. Volvo UK gives their interior heights as 147 centimetres for the Low Sleeper Cab (CAB-LSLP, 138 over the engine compartment cover), 171 for the Sleeper (CAB-SLP, 162), 205 for the Globetrotter (CAB-HSLP, 196) and 220 for the Globetrotter XL (CAB-XHSL, 211). The Globetrotter XXL is longer: its lower bed is 213 centimetres long, 99, 106.5 and 91 centimetres wide at the head, middle and feet. The GB data sheets of 25 September 2026 list the Low Sleeper, Sleeper, Globetrotter and Globetrotter XL on all seventeen sheets, with the Sleeper as standard fit. Aero versions of the cabs are options on thirteen sheets and absent from the four with dual front axles. The Globetrotter XXL appears only on the 4x2, 6x2 tag, 6x4 (air) and 8x4 tractor sheets, with the note “can only be used with heavy haul applications”, and in its Aero version only on the 6x4 (air) and 8x4 tractor sheets. Volvo UK’s FH16 table of approximate cab heights above the ground runs from about 3,025 mm (Low chassis, air suspension, Low Sleeper Cab) to about 4,000 mm (6x4 or 10x4 rigid, High chassis, leaf suspension, Globetrotter XL).

The FH16 Aero infosheet heads its cab text “Extended front” and says the extended cab of the FH16 Aero allows an aerodynamic design and that the Camera Monitoring System replaces the side mirrors. Volvo’s release of 29 January 2024, which names the FH16 Aero as one of four Aero versions, gives a length only for the FH Aero: the front of the FH Aero cab “has been extended by 24 centimeters versus the regular Volvo FH”. The FH16 can be ordered with either the camera system or mirrors; Volvo UK’s FH16 page says that for longer combinations “side mirrors are a more suitable choice”.

Volvo lists three exterior trims: Basic, with a Thunder gray grille and chrome headlamps; Basic with sturdy front, with black headlamps and a steel bumper painted gray; and the FH16 Aero trim, with a painted silver grille, black headlamps and a cab-colour bumper and spoiler. Volvo says the black-themed LED headlamp design is unique to the FH16, and its heavy-duty bumper is made from 3-mm high-grade steel. Inside, Volvo UK describes a leather trim unique to the FH16, in shades of Coral (orange) and Raven (dark gray). The cab has four-point suspension with coil springs and dampers, front coil and rear air springs, or air all round.

The standard bed is 74×200 centimetres with an 81.5-centimetre middle section; an extractable version widens to 88×200 centimetres with a 95.5-centimetre middle section, and an Upper Comfort bed of 60×190 or 70×190 centimetres can be added. Storage includes two under-bed drawers of 130 litres in total, compartments under the mattress of 10 and 15 litres, outside lockers on both sides and an unheated 30-litre space under the cab on each side. A fixed sky window or a roof hatch opening to 50 millimetres serves as the emergency exit. Volvo lists around 650 colour variants.

The D17 engine

Volvo UK’s specifications pages give the D17 as a Euro 6, six-cylinder diesel of 17.3 litres, with a 149 mm bore, 165 mm stroke and 17.3:1 compression ratio, an economy-rev band of 900–1,300 r/min, two full-flow oil filters and one bypass filter, a 42-litre oil change volume and an oil change interval of up to 100,000 km or once a year with VDS4.5 oil. The exhaust brake gives 246 kW at 2,200 r/min and the optional engine brake 525 kW at 2,200 r/min. Volvo sells it in three ratings, 600 hp (441 kW) with 3,000 Nm, 700 hp (515 kW) with 3,400 Nm and 780 hp (574 kW) with 3,800 Nm; the kilowatt and horsepower figures are Volvo’s own. On every GB data sheet of 25 September 2026 the 600 hp engine is standard fit, with the emission level given as Euro VI with SCR, EGR and a particulate filter; the 780 hp is an option on thirteen sheets and is not listed on the four rigid sheets with dual front axles (FH 104RFT6A, FH 82RF 6A, FH 84RF 6A and FH 84RF 6L).

Volvo’s documents give different engine speeds for the same three ratings:

The FH16 Aero infosheet gives the same speeds as the Volvo UK pages. The GB data sheets of 25 September 2026 give the three ratings’ power and torque but no engine speeds.

Volvo’s release of 30 January 2024 describes the D17 with a single turbocharger, Volvo’s patented wave piston design, a new injection system and increased peak cylinder pressure, and says engine-brake power has been improved across the entire speed range. It says all three ratings are certified to run on HVO and the 700 hp also on 100% biodiesel (B100); Volvo UK’s FH16 specifications page marks the 700 hp “available with B100, biodiesel”, while its FH16 Aero specifications page carries no such mark and its FH16 Aero model page says all versions operate on diesel or HVO. Volvo UK calls the 780 hp D17 “the most powerful engine ever put in a Volvo truck”. Volvo’s release of 11 June 2024 reports an on-road test of the 780 hp D17 against the 750 hp D16 at 55 tonnes gross combination weight, with 7% more torque and 5% lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

Volvo’s global FH16 page gives a power range of 540–780 hp “dependent on market” and availability in Asia/Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. No document opened lists a 540 hp rating for this generation; Volvo’s 2011 release listed a 540 hp 16-litre engine for the FH16 of that time. Volvo Trucks South Africa lists 16.12-litre D16 engines beside the D17: at Euro 3, 550 hp (405 kW) with 2,500 Nm and 610 hp (449 kW) with 2,800 Nm, and at Euro 5, 700 hp (515 kW) with 3,150 Nm and 750 hp (551 kW) with 3,550 Nm. These market-specific engines are not in this record’s engine table.

Transmission

Every FH16 has I-Shift, which Volvo UK describes as a 12-speed splitter and range gearbox with automated gear changing, available with a compact retarder, power take-off, emergency power steering pump and oil cooler, and orderable with crawler gears, ultra-low crawler gears and reverse multispeed. Volvo UK’s powertrain table pairs each engine with its own overdrive gearbox: the ATO3112 (3,150 Nm) with the 600 hp, the ATO3512 (3,550 Nm) with the 700 hp and the ATO3812 (3,800 Nm) with the 780 hp. Volvo UK’s gearbox tables and both infosheets give each of the three a GCW approval of 100 tonnes. The FH16 specifications page’s gearbox table also lists a direct-drive AT2812 (2,800 Nm, 60 tonnes) that appears in none of its powertrain combinations and is absent from the FH16 Aero specifications page. The GB data sheets of 25 September 2026 give as standard an AT3012, a 12-speed automated I-Shift that Volvo UK’s gearbox tables do not list, and list the three overdrive gearboxes as options, labelled “FH16 600”, “FH16 700” and “FH16 780”. They give none of these four a GCW; the only GCW they give a gearbox is 60 tonnes, for the optional AT2812. Volvo’s 2024 engine release says the gearbox was updated to handle up to 3,800 Nm.

Both infosheets say the version with crawler gears “facilitates easy operation with GCW up to 325 tonnes”. Volvo UK’s FH16 page describes a Change Direction function that shifts between forward and reverse with the accelerator alone, a Terrain Brake that lets the accelerator control both throttle and wheel brakes at up to 4 km/h, and a heavy-duty I-Shift software package. The gearbox-mounted compact retarder is given a maximum effect of 680 kW on Volvo UK’s FH16 specifications page, as on Volvo South Africa’s, and of 440 kW on Volvo UK’s FH16 Aero specifications page; retarders and engine brakes are covered separately. Engine-mounted power take-offs EPTT650 and EPTT1000 deliver 650 and 1,000 Nm at a 1.26:1 ratio, both driving and standing still, beside rear-mounted engine PTOs (PTER-DIN, PTER1400, PTER100) and clutch-dependent power take-offs.

Axles, suspension and brakes

Volvo UK pairs every one of these axles with all three engines. The GB data sheets of 25 September 2026 give the drive axles GCWs instead: from 52 tonnes for the RSS1352B solo axle and 70 tonnes for the RSS1370B, RSS1370C, RSH1370F, RTS2370A and RTS2370D, through 100 tonnes for the RTS2310A, RTH2610B, RTH2610F and RTH3210F, and 120 tonnes for the RTH3212F and RTH3312, to 150 tonnes for the RTH3815 38-tonne hub-reduction tandem, which is offered on the three leaf-sprung sheets FH 64T 6L, FH 64R 6L and FH 84RF 6L. The single- and hub-reduction designs are explained in axle ratios and final drive.

Volvo UK’s front-axle table rates a single front axle at 8 tonnes on the Low chassis (air suspension only), 10 tonnes with air or 9 tonnes with leaf springs on the Med chassis, and 10 tonnes on the High chassis and on the X-High chassis, which takes leaf springs only, with dual front axles rated at 20 tonnes on the Med and High chassis (air) and the High and X-High chassis (leaf). Nominal chassis heights are about 850 mm (Low), 900 mm (Med), 1,000 mm (High) and 1,200 mm (X-High). Pusher axles come fixed or actively steered at 4.5, 7.5 or 9 tonnes, tag axles fixed with single or dual wheels, self-steered or actively steered at 7.5, 9.5 or 10 tonnes, and Volvo UK’s FH16 page says the truck can be had “with up to five axles straight from the factory”. Rear suspensions run from 13-tonne parabolic or multi-leaf and 11.5 or 13-tonne air suspension on the 4x2, through air bogies for the 6x2 and air or leaf bogies for the 6x4 and 8x4, to a 38-tonne conventional-leaf bogie (RADD-TR3) on the 8x4 and air suspension rated at 27, 33 or 36 tonnes for 8x4 and 10x4 trucks with a steered tag axle; the FH16 Aero specifications page adds a fixed 16-tonne pusher-axle air suspension for the 6x2. Tandem Axle Lift, which raises the rearmost drive axle of the bogie when the truck is unloaded, is available on air-suspended 6x4 and 8x4 trucks with disc brakes.

Volvo UK’s FH16 Aero specifications page states that EBS is standard on all specifications, and every GB sheet lists the EBS Medium package, with a hill hold function, as standard. Volvo UK lists Auto Hold, a lining wear analysis for disc brakes, automatic parking-brake release with I-Shift, Stretch Brake for the trailer, Electronic Stability Control for vehicles with two to five axles, and an emergency brake light that flashes four times per second when the driver brakes hard from above 50 km/h. The FH16 specifications page, but not the FH16 Aero one, also lists a speed-dependent automatic lowering of the air suspension. Towbars for centre-axle trailers can be fitted at intervals of 25 millimetres.

Configurations, dimensions and weights

Volvo UK lists seventeen FH16 data sheets for Great Britain, all referenced 25 September 2026: six tractors (4x2, 6x2 pusher, 6x2 tag, 6x4 with air suspension, 6x4 with B/T leaf suspension, 8x4 pusher-axle tridem) and eleven rigids (4x2, 6x2 tag, 6x4 with air or T-ride leaf suspension, 8x2 platform with tag axle, 8x2 pusher and tag tridem, 8x4 with air or B/T leaf suspension, 8x4 pusher tridem, 8x4 tag tridem and 10x4 tag tridem). The tridem sheets carry a note to contact Volvo sales engineering. The sheet-variant table on this page lists each sheet’s wheelbases, kerb weights and plated weights. Each sheet also prints a design weight beside the plated one, and states that legal weights can differ from country to country.

The sheets state that chassis weight includes oil, water and AdBlue, with no fuel and no driver, and that kerb weight can vary by ±3%. Every sheet assumes 315/80R22.5 tyres on the front and drive axles. The FH 42R 6A sheet prints a plated GCW of 0.

Fuel and AdBlue tanks

Volvo UK lists aluminium or steel fuel tanks from 150 to 900 litres, with a maximum fuel volume of 1,510 litres on a 4x2 tractor, and plastic AdBlue tanks of 32 to 112 litres with an integrated pump. On eleven of the GB sheets of 25 September 2026 the standard fuel tank is a 330-litre aluminium tank of 710 mm diameter (code R330A71); the 6x2 pusher tractor has as standard a 480-litre aluminium tank of the same diameter with catwalk and steps (L480A71S). The four dual-front-axle rigids list “Without” as standard under both fuel-tank codes, UR-FUEL and UL-FUEL, and the 8x4 pusher tractor sheet has no fuel-tank line. A 64-litre AdBlue tank is standard on thirteen sheets.

Safety and driver-assistance systems

On all seventeen GB sheets of 25 September 2026, forward collision warning with an advanced emergency braking system, Side Collision Avoidance Support on the passenger and driver sides, and Driver Alert Support Warning with driver attention monitoring are standard. Electronic Stability Control and lane departure warning are standard on nine sheets and options on the other eight. Options on every sheet include forward collision warning combined with adaptive cruise control, Pilot Assist with continuous steering assistance, active support with emergency braking on the nearside and collision warning on the passenger and driver sides, Volvo Dynamic Steering, glare-free LED low and high beam, and camera monitoring with main and wide-angle rear-view cameras. Volvo UK says Volvo Dynamic Steering, an active steering system with torque overlay, is available for all axle configurations, including trucks with dual front axles.

Equipment and options

Volvo UK offers the driver’s seat in Dynamic and Progressive levels, with 240 millimetres of fore-and-aft and 100 millimetres of vertical adjustment, and the passenger seat in Standard and Comfort levels, with a moving passenger seat as an option; upholstery is black textile, leather or two-tone leather, and some trims can be ventilated. The steering wheel is 450 or 500 mm in diameter, adjusts by up to 90 mm in height and 28° in angle, and with the optional neck tilt between -5° and +15°. Climate choices are fan ventilation with a coolant heater, manual air conditioning (MCC) or automatic control (ECC/ECC2), with a cab and engine parking heater and the I-ParkCool cab parking cooler, which works with the parking heater while the engine is off. Volvo UK’s FH16 page offers the audio system in three levels; Volvo’s global FH16 page and both FH16 Aero pages say two. The FH16 infosheet lists six premium speakers with an optional subwoofer.

Source notes

Engine speeds differ between Volvo documents: the UK specifications pages and the FH16 Aero infosheet on one side and the FH16 infosheet on the other give different maximum-power and peak-torque speeds for the same three D17 ratings, and the GB data sheets of September 2026 give none. Combination-weight figures differ by document: Volvo UK’s specifications pages and both infosheets give the I-Shift gearboxes GCW approvals of 100 t, the GB data sheets of September 2026 give the overdrive gearboxes no GCW and the AT2812 60 t, list drive axles with GCW of up to 150 t and plate the 6x4 tractor at 44 t, and the infosheets say the crawler-gear version handles a GCW of up to 325 t. Volvo’s global page gives 540 to 780 hp depending on market, but no document opened lists a 540 hp engine for this generation; Volvo South Africa also lists Euro 3 and Euro 5 D16 engines, which are not in the engine table.