Volvo Trucks North America has partnered with the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a comprehensive package of vehicle components for the Volvo VN to deliver high fuel efficiency and low emissions, as part of EPA’s new SmartWay tractor program.

Trucks ordered with this set of components are eligible to receive EPA’s SmartWay Tractor designation.

“Volvo’s partnership with EPA in the SmartWay program grows from our core value of environmental care, which influences virtually everything we do at Volvo,” said Peter Karlsten, Volvo’s president and CEO.

“It also reflects our determination to give customers the most efficient and productive trucks possible. Our new family of US’07 engines deliver excellent fuel economy, with very low emissions. Volvo’s sophisticated aerodynamics further reduce fuel consumption. Our customers know that the rising cost of diesel makes it critical for them to be as fuel efficient as possible.”

The components required for the SmartWay-eligible designation reduce fuel consumption and minimize emissions, include:

• Engines certified to the new US’07 emissions standards

• Enhancements to reduce wind resistance, including integrated high roof fairings, fuel tank side fairings, side fairing gap reducers, aerodynamic bumpers and aerodynamic mirrors

• Anti-idling options

• Low-rolling resistance tires

Tractors meeting these specs can have a special SmartWay decal displayed inside the cab.

EPA has developed a similar program for manufacturers of trailers. The agency estimates that more than one million barrels of oil would be saved if 30 percent of the trucks and trailers sold industry-wide in 2007 were SmartWay tractor-trailer combinations.

Beginning later in the second quarter, Volvo customers will be able to specify a SmartWay-eligible tractor component package when ordering their trucks. The required components will be specially identified in Volvo’s truck ordering system so that carriers participating in the SmartWay program can ensure their new trucks qualify for EPA’s public designation.

Seventy-eight percent of Volvo VNL (long hood) sleeper cabs sold in 2006 — nearly 19,000 tractors — were equipped with the full aerodynamic package called for by the SmartWay program. Volvo also offers low-rolling resistance tires and systems to reduce the need for overnight idling of truck engines.

The SmartWay tractor-trailer is a component of EPA’s SmartWay Transport Partnership, a comprehensive public-private program designed to improve the transportation industry’s fuel efficiency and reduce its emissions. SmartWay also provides public recognition for companies that meet its challenging standards.

Volvo has been a member of the SmartWay Transport Partnership since 2003 through Volvo Logistics North America.

Volvo Trucks North America assembles its Volvo VT, VN and VHD trucks in the United States, at the ISO14001 and ISO9001 certified New River Valley Plant in Dublin, Va. Volvo engines for North America are assembled in Hagerstown, Md. Volvo sponsors the America’s Road Team national highway safety outreach program.

For more information, visit www.epa.gov/smartway.

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