HISTORY OF THE FH

In October 1993, the FH replaced the F series in Europe. With its all-new cab, revised engines, and class-leading levels of driver comfort, it was the must-have truck of the time.

My magazine, Commercial

Motor, was impressed, and in our first stories about the newcomer, we praised the D12A 12L engine, which we said was 10% more fuel efficient than its predecessor. We reported that the slippery new cab, with its raked windscreen, resulted in a

20% drag improvement. And we waxed lyrical about the creature comforts bestowed upon the driver.

But perhaps the biggest headline grabber was the FH16, with its modified 16L engine, which now pushed power output to a recordbreaking 381kW (512hp). And we weren’t the only ones to be impressed with the FH, which was crowned International Truck of the Year (IToY) 1994.

Over the next three decades, the FH would evolve, with numerous improvements to safety levels, fuel economy, performance and driveability. One of the key milestones was the arrival of the I-Shift transmission in 2001. It set new standards in two-pedal driving and, despite initial resistance from some quarters, soon grew in popularity. So much so, that by 2018, you couldn’t even specify a manual gearbox in an FH.

Other significant developments in its sixgeneration, 30-year history include the launch of an all-new cab in 2013.

This coincided with the introduction of the I-See forward-looking predictive cruise control, which reads the road ahead, making allowances for topography. Then there was Dynamic Steering, I-Save, and of course, its gas and battery-electric drivelines.

The FH Electric has been crowned IToY 2024, becoming the first zero-tailpipeemission truck to win in the competition’s 48-year history.

So far, 1.4 million Volvo FHs have been sold in 80 different markets, but that’s certainly not the end of the story.