Volvo Group has begun construction of a 35,000-square-foot, $33 million vehicle propulsion lab at the company’s powertrain research and development site in Hagerstown, Maryland.
The lab will be Volvo’s first facility in North America to host comprehensive testing of current and future products for Volvo Trucks, Mack Trucks, Prevost and Volvo Bus to meet evolving government regulations and ensure high performance on diverse North American roadways as it continues development toward alternative-powered vehicles. The new VPL is expected to open in the second quarter of 2023.
The Hagerstown campus is also home to the Volvo Group’s powertrain manufacturing facility, which produces engines, transmissions and axles for Mack Trucks, Volvo Trucks, Prevost coaches and Volvo Buses sold in North America.
Volvo Trucks North America and its sister company, Mack Trucks, are headquartered on National Service Road along Interstate 40 in Greensboro.
The new lab, which will be connected to the company’s existing engine development lab, will augment the current testing methods of environmental impacts on engine performance. One of two environmental chambers will have a chassis dynamometer capable of emissions measurements and simulating extreme weather and altitude conditions. The second will offer testing of fully operative vehicles, including highway and vocational trucks, as well as coach buses, for starting in a variety of weather conditions.
“Our engineers currently rely on long-distance travel for extreme-weather testing or tap various third-party labs that specialize in specific types of testing,” said Audley Brown, vice president of powertrain engineering for Volvo Group North America. ”The VPL will be one of the few places in operation that offers vehicle emissions and on-board diagnostics requirements at all expected operating conditions for trucks, buses and powertrains.”
The company also expects the new lab to help drive ongoing product quality improvements and speed-to-market capabilities due to the strategic migration from on-road to controlled lab environment testing.
“The powertrain technology site plays a significant role in the Volvo Group’s efforts to offer advanced transportation solutions that meet customers’ needs today and down the road,” said Volvo Group Chief Technology Officer Lars Stenqvist. “The all-new VPL will enable us the ability to more quickly develop and test battery-electric and hydrogen-based fuel cell solutions, as well as internal combustion engines, which will be powered by fossil-free fuels in the future, for our Class 8 trucks and coach buses.”
Volvo Trucks North America began production of its new VNR Electric model in January. Mack Trucks is field testing its Mack LR Electric refuse collection trucks in New York City and in Hickory.
