Volvo Turns Attention to Vocational Trucks

May 27, 2026

Ryan Gehm

Volvo’s next-gen D13 engine builds on existing aftertreatment technology to meet the EPA’s 35-mg NOx standard taking effect on January 1, 2027. (Volvo Trucks)

Sustainability needs to be practical. That was a point Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks North America, made clear at CONEXPO 2026 in Las Vegas.

“We’re running a business, so we are focusing a lot on efficiency and uptime,” he said, referencing the up-to-10% improvement in fuel efficiency with the new VNL. “That helps our customers to run their operations at a better pace and a lower cost, but at the same time we have a very positive impact on the climate.”

Voorhoeve also teased the launch of a new vocational truck. “We are strong in long haul. We are a leading sleeper manufacturer, very strong in regional haul, and we now have renewed focus on vocational,” he said. “In August we will launch a new truck specifically for the vocational segment that’s built on the same platform as the VNL and VNR.”

Voorhoeve sat down with SAE Media for a wide-ranging discussion following the Volvo Group press conference at CONEXPO.

SAE Media: Can you expand on the importance of the vocational truck market in North America?

Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks North America. (SAE/Ryan Gehm)

Voorhoeve: We strongly believe that we can play a larger role in the North American market. We’re now running around 11-percent market share. Steadily we’re leaders in the sleeper segment, we’re known for that, but we’re not so strong in the vocational segment. That’s still, especially right now, I mean 30-percent of the total market, something like that. And it is a recession-proof segment. So for our growth strategy, it is important that we continue to penetrate in long haul and regional haul with the all-new VNL and the all-new VNR. And we want then to have a stronger part in the vocational segment. But for that, you again need to have a truck that’s really focused on vocational.

We use Volvo Group technology because if you look outside of North America, for Volvo Trucks we do business in 150 different countries or something like that. We produce in 14 different countries. Especially in northern Europe, we take 30-percent market share in the vocational segment, and in Brazil and France [it’s very high, too.] That we do with our cabover product, the FMX, and we have stepped up in the cabover segment over the last 25 years significantly in the vocational segment. So with that technology and that knowledge and experience, we’re now applying that here in the North American market to have a better product offer, more application-focused, be that heavy haul, construction, refuse, roll-on/roll-off, there’ll be a very wide offer for the vocational segment.

SAE Media: And these new vocational trucks will be built on the new VNL/VNR platform?

Voorhoeve: Yes. In 2017 we launched what we now call the legacy VNL and the legacy VNR. There’s only so much more you can get out of a platform. That is the moment you need to rethink in terms of, okay, what are the emission regulations going forward? What are the expectations of our customers when it comes to fuel efficiency? We came to the conclusion, we need to redesign the platform. How do you work with aerodynamics with the cab, which is more important for the long-haul market than the vocational market. How do we work with the strength? With safety? And the electrical architecture, because the increased safety that we have requires a lot of communication. So it’s on this new platform that we will launch the new VHD, then the cab and all the axles, etc., that’ll be different.

SAE Media: How important is investment in North America to mitigate the impact of tariffs?

Voorhoeve: At New River Valley in Virginia, that’s where we build all our trucks. So we are a U.S. manufacturer, and we are serving the North American market. Not only do we manufacture here, but many of the parts are manufactured here as well. And the entire design, development, etc., everything is done here. Tariffs, as a matter of fact, will impact us obviously. But not as much for instance as others that import.

SAE Media: Does the EPA’s shift on GHG emissions affect Volvo’s strategy at all?

Voorhoeve: No. We always strive for higher efficiency and lower emissions. When we launched the VNL and the VNR, with the shape of the cab and with the improvements in the driveline, we basically improved fuel efficiency by 10 percent. That is an enormous amount, and that then [positively impacts] greenhouse gas and CO2 emissions. EPA 2027 is more about nitrogen oxide emissions, the NOx standard, and we will be compliant in 2027. We will have an engine that is compliant with the NOx emission regulations and that is competitive for our customers. [Volvo unveiled its next-gen D13 engine in May to meet the EPA’s 35-mg NOx standard.]

SAE Media: Does this policy shift impact heavy-duty electrification timelines in the U.S. moving forward?

Voorhoeve: We say 100-percent safe, 100-percent fossil-free and 100-percent uptime. For that, we have different solutions. Electric is one solution, but biodiesel is another solution and hydrogen is, too. So we have these different fuel solutions to get to better sustainability. Specifically in the North American market what you see is that there was a big push for electrification, especially in California but also in the ‘opt-in’ states. The regulations in California have been kind of overturned by the Department of Justice. I think that electrification also for Class 8 trucks will still be a thing, but it will go slower than what we saw in 2022 and 2023, for instance… I strongly believe in the application [of EVs]; I also strongly believe that it goes a bit slower than what we originally expected. But that has to do with the policy changes from the administration.