Volvo VNL

The VNL is the long-haul tractor of Volvo Trucks North America, which calls it a Class 8 truck and its flagship model; the US weight classes are explained in GVWR, GCWR and GAWR. Volvo unveiled the current generation, the “all-new Volvo VNL”, on 23 January 2024 and announced the start of its series production on 3 October 2024 at the New River Valley Assembly Plant in Dublin, Virginia. This page is built from Volvo Trucks USA’s VNL product page with its exterior, driving-environment, living-environment, safety and connectivity pages, its D13TC engine page and its VNL campaign pages, all read on 11 October 2026; from the VNL brochures of January 2024 and April 2025 and the sales sheets of April and May 2025 on the same site; from the body builder instructions Volvo links for the VNL, in sections dated September and November 2025; from Volvo Trucks North America’s press releases of April 2018 and of January 2024 to October 2026; and from two pages of Volvo Trucks México.

Overview

Volvo’s launch release of 23 January 2024 describes a “completely reimagined” VNL, “engineered to achieve a fuel efficiency improvement of up to 10%”, with sales to begin in the following months and production at the New River Valley Plant. Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks North America, called it “not just a face lift, it’s a 90% redesign of the product and the platform for all future powertrain solutions” and “seven years in the making” in Volvo’s release of 6 February 2024; Volvo’s “Business Focus” release of 23 January 2024 instead speaks of “six years of intensive research and dedicated product development” by its US team. Volvo says the VNL will be the platform for “all upcoming technologies”, naming battery-electric and fuel-cell drives and combustion engines running on renewable fuels including hydrogen, and that its 24-volt electrical architecture, which replaces a 12-volt one, is the first in the North American trucking industry.

Volvo gives the fuel figure against different baselines. The VNL product page claims “up to a 10% improvement in fuel efficiency versus our previous model”, the aerodynamics brochure of January 2024 “up to 10% improvement in overall fuel efficiency” over “our previous models”, and the release announcing the truck’s first public showing “up to 10% more fuel efficient than our 2018 VNL baseline”. Volvo’s aerodynamics campaign page credits up to 7% to the aerodynamic changes and up to an additional 1% to the optional camera monitor system.

Volvo’s release for Truck World in Toronto (18–20 April 2024) says the VNL had made its public debut the month before, as a VNL 840 with the Edge trim, at the annual meeting of the Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) in New Orleans, held on 4–7 March 2024, and lists the VNL 300 day cab, in its first public appearance, among the trucks on its stand. Volvo announced on 15 April 2024 that sales had started, with the VNL 860, VNL 840 and VNL 300 available to order immediately and the other cab configurations to follow. Volvo announced the start of series production on 3 October 2024 at the New River Valley Assembly Plant, which it describes as the Volvo Group’s largest assembly facility in the world, at over 2.3 million square feet on 566 acres, together with the christening of a new cab plant, part of a $400 million investment; more than 400 VNLs were then to arrive at dealerships. Volvo says all its trucks for the North American market are built at this plant, and its release of 8 October 2026 puts the Volvo Group’s investment to modernise and upgrade the plant for the VNL and VNR at $500 million. Volvo reported the first order, 50 VNL 860s for Legend Transportation, in June 2024 and the delivery of 125 VNL 860s to Highlight Motor Group in Canada in January 2026. Volvo Trucks México’s portfolio page lists cab-over models only.

The regional-haul VNR is built on the same new platform: Volvo’s release of 17 February 2026 says it was first unveiled in March 2025 and that the first units came off the assembly line in February 2026. On 4 May 2026 Volvo previewed a “next-generation Volvo VNL Electric”, “a new battery-electric truck in development” for regional haul, drayage and city distribution, to be equipped with Proterra’s Onyx Battery Platform and described as the fourth truck planned for the new platform; no document opened gives technical data or a start of production for it. Volvo’s release for ACT Expo in May 2026 lists a “Volvo VNL Autonomous” among the vehicles on display.

Cabs

Volvo offers the VNL in six cab configurations. Its body builder instructions draw each of them as a 4x2, a 6x2 and a 6x4, with the cab codes and dimensions shown in the table; wheel formulas are explained in axle configurations.

The same tables give the width across the mirrors as 3,034 mm, or 3,075 mm in the 4x2 and 6x2 drawings of the VNL 640, and unladen frame heights of 1,010 to 1,081 mm, and note that “the dimensions are chassis-specific and unique to each vehicle”. How sleeper cabs and day cabs differ in general is covered in truck cabs explained.

Inside the sleeper models Volvo’s release of 21 March 2024 lists a standard flat bunk or a reclining bunk, a “murphy-style” pull-down bunk on the VNL 840 and 860 that gives access to the dinette and folds away into the wall, and on high-roof models a telescopic ladder to the optional upper bunk, which can also serve as storage with a load-protection lip and cargo net. The living-environment page names an optional oversized 80-litre refrigerator for the largest models, a control panel within reach of the bunk for lighting, audio, door locks, alarms, battery controls and climate control, and overlapping curtains with a magnetic seal, optionally with a thermal barrier, beside airline-inspired window shades; Volvo’s driver-productivity campaign page gives the new VNL 30% more standard insulation.

According to the release of 21 March 2024, the driver’s area has a 12-inch Digital Information Display in place of analogue gauges, an optional 9-inch infotainment centre that can scroll through up to seven exterior camera views, an all-in-one stalk with a twist-knob gear selector that also gives access to the engine brake, Position Perfect Steering with three-way adjustment, and inboard controls on the driver’s seat. The driving-environment page describes push-button ignition, which Volvo calls an industry first, with a key fob that can start the engine and switch on the exterior lighting and the climate control. The trim guide lists five seat options, X1 to X5, chosen independently of the trim level.

Volvo packages the VNL in four exterior and interior trim levels: Core, Edge, Edge Black and Ultimate. The trim guide of January 2024 describes Ultimate with sustainably harvested real wood trim, Sula Blue accents and satin chrome, and with push-button ignition, an infotainment centre and a leather-wrapped steering wheel as standard; Edge Black with a gloss black grille, bumpers and mirrors; Edge with a gloss black grille in a satin chrome surround, mirrors and chassis fairings in body colour, and premium audio; and Core with many exterior trim parts that never need painting and a Fathom Blue and Logan Grey interior. Volvo’s release of 5 December 2024 ties the technology packages to the trims: Core has the standard Technology Package, Edge Technology Package #1, and Edge Black and Ultimate Technology Package #2, each of which can be raised or lowered by one level. The packages cover radio, including SiriusXM 360L, navigation, the door locks and push-button ignition, electric windows, wireless phone charging, cameras, automatic lights and wipers, and tyre pressure monitoring. In June 2026 Volvo named the Ultimate trim’s genuine Ayous wood veneer, certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, a splash shield in the front wheel well made of 75% recycled plastic since May 2026, carpets with up to 50% recycled content and seatback parts with up to 75% recycled fibres. Volvo’s paint selector of January 2024 lists four new colours for the VNL launch: Prairie Grasslands, Desert Mirage, Coastal Mist and Skyline Steel.

Exterior and aerodynamics

Volvo’s aerodynamics brochure of January 2024 describes a wedge-shaped body that widens from a narrow nose to the A-pillar and again to the B-pillar; a hood with more curvature at the front and a cowl “virtually shrink-wrapped” around the engine, with a recirculation shield that forces the air through the radiator; a raked, curved windshield bonded directly to the cab’s steel body at the A-pillars; door and hood mirrors with less surface area, the door mirrors on a single arm; an angular roof without an exterior sun visor and with flush-mounted clearance lamps; a “ski-jump” roof extender; side air deflectors on the cab and a longer aero extender that folds out; a grille sized to the radiator, with a lower intake duct; a lower bumper and spoiler without a central opening; double-V headlamps integrated with the bumper and hood and set lower; a reduced front-fender profile; front wheel closeouts; chassis fairings with redesigned steps, fuel and DEF door covers and extended ground effects; and FlowBelow rear fairings and wheel covers for single or tandem rear axles, available from the factory as FlowBelow or FlowBelow Deluxe. Volvo’s aerodynamics campaign page gives the windshield a slope of 52°, and the exterior page describes chassis fairings with a single quick-release hatch.

Engines

The VNL’s engine is Volvo’s 13-litre D13. Volvo’s release of 11 March 2025 calls the D13 Turbo Compound engine “standard on the all-new Volvo VNL”; Volvo says its turbo compounding recovers and harnesses lost energy, a principle explained in turbocompound engines. Volvo’s D13TC page describes a direct-injection diesel inline six with a bore and stroke of 5.16 x 6.22 in (131 x 158 mm), a compression ratio of 18:1, a displacement printed as “780 [13L]”, the firing order 1-5-3-6-2-4, an approximate dry weight of 2,635 lb (1,195 kg) and an engine brake retarding power of 500 hp (372 kW) at 2,200 rpm, and says its fixed-geometry turbo is designed to meet the engine’s B50 life of 1.2 million miles.

Volvo’s launch release gives the D13 four horsepower ratings from 405 to 500 hp and three torque ratings from 1,750 to 1,950 lb-ft, and says customers select from three powertrain packages with “five different horsepower and torque ratings”. Volvo’s I-Shift campaign page lists three torque packages: Super Direct, “for steady highway speeds and maximum efficiency”, Straight Torque, “for heavier loads and demanding performance needs”, and I-Torque, “for fuel efficiency and performance across any route”. The VNL product page and Volvo’s D13 campaign page give 405 to 500 hp and 1,650 to 1,950 lb-ft, while the D13TC page and the launch release start the torque range at 1,750 lb-ft. No Volvo document opened gives kilowatt or newton-metre figures for the ratings.

For the new VNL Volvo fitted the D13 with an improved seven-wave piston, following the six-wave piston it introduced in 2017, with a lower piston height and a longer connecting rod; smaller needle control valves in the injectors; a variable-displacement oil pump with adjustable vanes; full insulation of the turbocharger and the turbo compound unit; and a smaller compressor and turbine wheel inside the turbo compound unit (release of 6 February 2024). The D13 campaign page gives a figure of 6% for “reduced friction from piston side thrust”.

On 11 March 2025 Volvo added the D13 VGT, with a variable-geometry turbocharger, as the standard engine of the new VNR and an option in the VNL day cab, sharing the seven-wave piston, the injectors and the oil pump. Volvo lists it at 405, 425, 435 and 455 hp with torque ratings from 1,450 to 1,850 lb-ft and claims an up to 3 percent fuel efficiency improvement over its previous generation engine. On 29 April 2025 Volvo announced that it would seek certification of a CARB-24 Omnibus engine for the new VNL and VNR, built on the D13 VGT and designed for a 0.05 g NOx rating, with an integrated 48-volt heater for start-up and low-load operation, in expected configurations of 425 hp and 1,750 lb-ft or 455 hp and 1,850 lb-ft, and with deliveries expected from the fourth quarter of 2025; no release opened reports the outcome of the certification. Volvo’s body builder instructions show a 48-volt alternator “applicable only for CARB24 vehicles” and, in their aftertreatment drawings, a 48-volt e-heater and a 48-volt battery.

The linear exhaust aftertreatment system has a diesel oxidation catalyst, a diesel particulate filter and a selective catalytic reduction unit that can each be serviced or replaced on its own; the body builder instructions also show an ammonia slip catalyst. Volvo’s release of 5 March 2024 says the redesign reduced the system’s overall component weight by 75 pounds, raised the service interval of the particulate filter to approximately 630,000 miles and extended valve adjustment intervals by nearly 20%. The body builder instructions give an oil-change volume of 37 US quarts (35 L) with a steel or composite oil pan and 38 quarts (36 L) with an aluminium pan, and require ultra-low-sulfur diesel. Volvo’s release of 24 April 2024 says renewable diesel at any blend up to RD100 that conforms to ASTM D975 or EN15940 “will not adversely affect engine or aftertreatment performance or durability”, and that new trucks leave the New River Valley plant with 20 to 25 gallons of HVO per tank; HVO is explained in what is HVO fuel.

Since May 2026 Volvo has built the D13 VGT and D13 TC engines of the new VNL and VNR with updated diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) inducement software under revised EPA guidelines, which raise the final inducement speed from 5 to 25 mph and extend the repair window from four hours to up to 160 hours (release of 27 July 2026).

On 4 May 2026 Volvo introduced a new D13 designed to meet the US Environmental Protection Agency’s 2027 standards, including the 35-milligram NOx standard, which take effect on 1 January 2027. Volvo says the new engine “will be available across all Volvo truck models”, with ratings up to 540 horsepower and 1,950 lb-ft, engine braking of up to 630 braking horsepower and compatibility with renewable diesel (R100) and biodiesel blends up to B20; no document opened gives its ratings for the VNL.

Transmission

The VNL’s gearbox is the Volvo I-Shift, which Volvo’s release of 22 January 2026 lists as a “12-speed I-Shift automated manual transmission with Eco-Roll and I-See” for a VNL 860 order. Volvo’s release of 6 February 2024 says the I-Shift led Volvo to end its manual transmission offering and gives the latest I-Shift up to 30% faster shifting than its predecessor, through revised software, electronics and clutch mechanisms, a reduced clutch throw and an enhanced clutch brake; the I-Shift campaign page names a new countershaft brake and an oil-level sensor shown in the instrument cluster. Volvo’s I-See campaign page describes I-See, which uses GPS and road data to keep the truck in the most efficient gear and manages the engine braking. How such gearboxes work is covered in automated manual transmissions.

Volvo’s body builder instructions cover the I-Shift models AT2612 and ATO2612, each with a service fill of 16 litres (16.9 quarts) of oil, and give these ratios for the versions without crawler gears:

Versions with crawler gears add a crawler ratio of 19.38 (direct drive) or 17.54 (overdrive), the ultra-low crawler versions two crawler ratios of 32.04 and 19.38, and versions with a multi-speed reverse further reverse gears. The VNL product page gives a low rear axle ratio of 2.15.

Axles, suspension and brakes

The front axles listed in Volvo’s body builder instructions are the Meritor MFS12-E122 at 12,000 or 12,500 lb and MF-S13122 at 13,200 lb, the Dana E-1252IR at 12,000 or 12,500 lb and E-1322IL at 13,200 lb, which the manual says can only be used with the VOAS rear suspension, and Volvo’s own VF13 at 12,000 or 12,500 lb and VF14 at 13,200 or 14,600 lb. For the rear the manual lists Volvo’s GRAS (Global Rear Air Suspension) and VOAS (Volvo Optimized Air Suspension), each rated at 23,000 lb on 4x2 and 6x2 chassis and at 40,000 or 46,000 lb on 6x4 chassis, with a 40–60 load distribution on the 6x2 and 50–50 on the 6x4; Volvo’s B-RIDE and T-RIDE leaf suspensions for 6x4 chassis at 40,000 or 46,000 lb; the Hendrickson HAS air suspension, which it says is designed for up to 25% off-highway use and approved for use with an auxiliary lift axle; and a PAM-LINK auxiliary pusher axle for 6x2 chassis. It refers to Dana and Meritor for the rear axles’ literature.

Volvo’s suspension sales sheet of April 2025 describes the suspension of the new VNL and VNR as redesigned in four areas: at the front a stabilizer bar and longer parabolic leaf springs, which it marks “VNL only”; for the engine a V-shaped layout of the rubber bushings that still lets the engine drop down and away from the driver in a frontal collision; for the cab an adjustable pan-hard rod, front vertical bushings, two rear airbag options and longer rear cab shocks; and at the rear the optional GRAS, whose upright shocks and tuned airbags counter frame lift under acceleration, with a bogie spacing of 54 inches, a new V-stay with an internal safety catch and, with Volvo’s premium-level electronically controlled suspension (ECS), three driver-selectable ride heights. Volvo’s launch release adds that GRAS uses dual levelling rods, and the sheet says the VOAS “remains available for appropriate applications”. According to its own sales sheet of April 2025, Volvo Smart Suspension comes as a base electronic suspension, with a suspension pressure display and automatic load distribution across the rear axles, or as an enhanced version with load information, overload warnings and a traction mode that loads one driven axle more heavily; both can be ordered with a wired remote for setting the ride height from the back of the truck.

Volvo’s body builder instructions give the brakes as compressed-air brakes with a working pressure of 100 to 135 psi (689 to 930 kPa), and their brake diagrams show an EBS control unit, EBS modulators on the front and rear axles, ABS valves and wheel-speed sensors, an electronic trailer protection control module (eTPCM), a hand control unit for the parking brake, an air compressor, an air production modulator and an air drier, and the manual refers to Bendix and Meritor for brake literature. Volvo’s safety brochure says the electronic braking system balances truck and trailer brakes and, when faster braking is needed, blends the engine brake with the foundation brakes. The electronic parking brake, standard on all new VNL and VNR models according to Volvo’s release of 26 June 2025, applies automatically when the truck is put in neutral and the driver’s door is opened, and releases when a gear is engaged and the accelerator pressed; the safety brochure of January 2024 describes the same function with the truck “put in park”. According to Volvo’s tire monitoring sales sheet of April 2025, the system checks tyre pressure and temperature every 10 seconds, every second when a tyre deflates fast, and updates the Driver Information Display every 60 seconds; its valve-mounted sensors are designed for at least 6.5 years of battery life, and an advanced version learns the tyre positions automatically.

Frame and fuel tanks

The frame rails in the body builder instructions are 266 or 300 mm deep, with a 90 mm flange and a thickness of 6, 7, 8 or 9.5 mm (the 9.5 mm rail only 300 mm deep), in heat-treated steel with a yield strength of 827.3 MPa (120,000 psi); one 7 x 90 x 300 mm rail is listed in heat-treated high-strength low-alloy steel of 758.4 MPa (110,000 psi). The overall frame width is 1,078 to 1,085 mm at the front and 848 to 855 mm at the back, and tractor frame rails end in a 27° taper.

The instructions list D-shaped fuel tanks, 26 inches in diameter, in capacities of 50, 75, 100, 125 and 150 US gallons (190, 285, 380, 475 and 570 litres) and lengths of 21.50 to 62.16 inches, on the driver’s side, the passenger side or both; Volvo says the D-shaped tanks are approximately 10% shorter for the same capacity, which shortens the tank by approximately three to seven inches. The suspension tables of the instructions list GVW and GCW figures for each suspension and rear-axle combination, with GCWs of up to 73 tons for the 46,000 lb tandems; no document opened gives a kerb weight or a gross vehicle or combination weight rating for the VNL as a model, the DEF tank volumes, or rear axle ratios other than the 2.15 low ratio.

Electrical system, connectivity and idle management

The VNL introduced a 24-volt electrical architecture to Volvo’s North American trucks. Volvo says the system “has been proven in the European market” and brings lighter components, faster and more accurate diagnostics and more reliable, serviceable wiring harnesses, and its body builder instructions show a 24 V alternator on the D13. Volvo’s release of 28 February 2024 says every new Volvo truck comes with two years of Volvo Uptime Care with the Volvo Connect fleet portal and the My Truck app, which shows oil, DEF and coolant levels and exterior light faults and can schedule the climate control; the launch release adds the remaining fuel range. Software updates are installed over the air: Volvo gave the average download time on the new VNL as four minutes in March 2024, and its releases of February 2024 to September 2026 give 24% fewer unplanned stops for trucks running the latest software, while its VNL connectivity page says updates reduce unplanned stops “by up to 25%”. In September 2026 Volvo made unattended over-the-air updates, which run while the truck is parked and locked, available in trucks across the US and Canada, a feature its June 2026 release says the new connected 24-volt platform made possible. The February 2024 release also describes an electronic logging device (ELD) solution powered by Geotab, integrated into the optional infotainment screen.

Volvo’s integrated Parking Cooler, offered on the new VNL only, runs the cab’s HVAC from battery power when parked, for up to eight hours without idling according to Volvo’s idle-management sheet of May 2025; its compressor is mounted on the chassis, and it works with an automatic recharge, standard on the VNL, that cranks the engine to keep the batteries charged. Volvo also lists parking heaters of 2 kW for the bunk area and 6 kW for the whole cab and the engine, a short-stop parking heater that heats for up to 30 minutes in the VNL and VNR 300 day cab, a five-minute idle shutdown, and idle speeds of 550 rpm, or 500 rpm in eco-roll, which it calls the lowest it has offered.

Safety and driver-assistance systems

The Volvo Active Driver Assist (VADA) package is standard on every VNL. Volvo’s safety brochure of January 2024 lists in it long-range forward pedestrian detection, forward collision warning and mitigation, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control with Traffic Stop & Go and automatic emergency braking, with Volvo Dynamic Steering as an option. The optional VADA+ package adds Volvo Dynamic Steering with oversteer guidance, lane keep assist, Pilot Assist with Auto Stop, lane change support and side detection of pedestrians and other road users (alert only); Volvo’s releases describe Pilot Assist as active lane centering and the side detection as short-range detection of pedestrians and cyclists in the blind spots on either side of the truck and trailer. Forward pedestrian detection can trigger frontal automatic emergency braking for objects directly in the truck’s path. Volvo’s VNL safety page adds road sign recognition, in which a forward-looking camera shows the signs on the instrument panel, with an overspeed warning that can be enabled; headlights that switch the high beams automatically and cornering lamps for turns at low speed; blind spot detection on both sides with audiovisual and haptic alerts; and optional smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Volvo’s camera systems brochure of April 2025 describes the optional, fully integrated camera monitor system, which can replace the traditional side mirrors with cameras mounted high above each door and displays on the A-pillars inside the cab, supported by small side mirrors; it uses infrared technology for sharper views in low light, reference lines that mark the rear of the trailer, including the rear trailer of doubles, and cameras that track the trailer’s rear corner. Volvo reported the first VNLs with the system, for DB Schenker, in March 2025. A back-up camera on the back of the cab shows the chassis and fifth wheel as soon as reverse is engaged, the multi-camera system takes up to six additional cameras viewed on the infotainment screen, and Volvo’s own cameras have lens covers that open only when in use and infrared technology.

The cab is built of high-strength steel and, according to Volvo’s safety brochure, designed to meet and exceed the Swedish Cab Safety Test. Volvo’s release of 26 June 2025 says the cabs of the new VNL and VNR use 33% more ultra-high-strength hot-stamped steel than previous generations, in the areas above the doors, while its connectivity-and-uptime campaign page gives “24% Additional Ultra High Strength Steel in cab”. A driver’s front airbag is standard. Side curtain airbags, which deploy in a rollover, triggered by a tilt angle, to protect driver and passenger, were offered at launch for the driver only or for both; on 25 September 2025 Volvo announced that they are now standard on every new VNL and VNR. Volvo’s release of 28 March 2024 lists a laminated safety-glass windshield, with laminated door and rear windows optional; an impact-absorbing dash and steering column; Volvo’s flared frame rails, designed to lower the engine and transmission beneath the cab in a frontal impact; and reinforced hinges that keep the doors shut in a crash and unlock automatically afterwards. After an airbag deployment or rollover the engine shuts down, the fuel supply is cut and the hazard lights come on, and a frontal airbag deployment sets the emergency parking brake. Volvo’s E-Call sheet of April 2025 says E-Call, standard on every new VNL and VNR, places an automatic 911 call with the truck’s location where cell coverage is available, independently of the driver’s own phone; a manual SOS switch is optional.

Earlier generations

Volvo dates the first VN to 1996; its release of 25 September 2025 says Volvo introduced the driver’s front airbag that year with the VN and made it standard. Volvo Trucks México’s history page lists the new Volvo VN (“el nuevo Volvo VN”) in 2002, and Volvo’s release of 3 April 2018 calls the VNL 670 “a mainstay in our on-highway lineup since its 2002 introduction” and Volvo’s highest-volume model for North American fleets. The history page dates the I-Shift’s launch for North America to 2006, while Volvo’s releases of January and February 2024 give 2007; it lists new D13 and D13 Turbo Compounding engines for GHG 2017 in 2016 and the introduction of “the new VNL family for long-haul operations”, with an all-new 70-inch sleeper, in 2017.

Volvo’s release of 3 April 2018 reports the completed transition from the “legacy VNL 670” to full production of the new VNL 760 with its all-new 70-inch sleeper. It gives the VNL 760 the 13-litre D13 and the 12-speed I-Shift as standard, the D13 Turbo Compound as an option that feeds an additional 50 horsepower back to the crankshaft for an improvement in fuel efficiency of up to 6.5 percent, and the 15-litre Cummins X15 as also available, and claims that with the D13 Turbo Compound the new VNL can achieve up to a 7.5 percent increase in fuel efficiency over a 2015 VNL with a GHG 2014 D13. The release names a five-inch colour driver information display and an integrated reclining bunk in the VNL 760, gives Volvo Active Driver Assist (with Bendix Fusion) and Volvo Enhanced Stability Technology as standard on all VNL models, and describes a high-strength steel cab that exceeds the Volvo Swedish Cab Safety Test and ECE R-29 rollover requirements, with a standard driver’s airbag and a seat-mounted rollover airbag. Volvo Trucks México’s history page marks the VNL’s 25th anniversary in North America in 2021. Volvo’s release for Truck World in April 2024 lists “the current model Volvo VNL 760 long-haul sleeper” beside two of the new VNLs, and a Volvo release of 18 July 2024 offers a CARB 2024 engine, at 455 hp and 1,650 lb-ft, in the VNR and the “current VNL models”; Volvo’s release of 29 April 2025 refers to an “earlier CARB-24 engine launch for the legacy VNL and VNR models”.

Source notes

Engines, in the maker’s units: Volvo D13 Turbo Compound (D13TC), 13 l, standard, rated 405 hp and 1,750 lb-ft, 425 hp and 1,750 lb-ft, 455 hp and 1,850 lb-ft, 500 hp and 1,850 lb-ft or 500 hp and 1,950 lb-ft on Volvo’s D13TC page (the VNL page gives 405-500 hp and 1650-1950 lb-ft); Volvo D13 VGT, from March 2025 an option in the VNL day cab, 405, 425, 435 or 455 hp with 1450-1850 lb-ft. Gearbox: Volvo I-Shift 12-speed automated manual, direct drive (14.94 to 1) or overdrive (11.73 to 0.79), crawler versions to 32.04; low rear axle ratio 2.15. Cabs: VNL 300 day cab, VNL 440 42-inch mid-roof, VNL 640 62-inch mid-roof, VNL 660 62-inch full-height, VNL 840 74-inch mid-roof and VNL 860 74-inch full-height sleepers, each drawn as 4x2, 6x2 and 6x4 in Volvo’s body builder instructions (September 2025), with overall heights of 3,966-4,098 mm and cab widths of 2,502-2,580 mm. Front axles 12,000-14,600 lb; rear suspensions 23,000 lb on single and 40,000 or 46,000 lb on tandem drive axles. Fuel tanks: D-shaped, 26-inch diameter, 50-150 US gal (190-570 l) each. 24-volt electrical system. No document opened gives a kerb weight or a gross vehicle or combination weight rating for the VNL as a model.