Recently the world premiere and official launch of the new Volvo FH Series was held in Gothenburg, Sweden, with parallel events in Madrid, Birmingham, Paris, Rotterdam and Brussels. In addition, the Vegas-style gala event could be followed live on the Internet.

"For almost 20 years, the previous Volvo FH has been a reliable growth engine for Volvo Trucks and trucking companies the world over," said Claes Nilsson, Volvo Truck President and CEO.

"The new Volvo FH will play the same significant role. It's an innovative truck that puts the driver in firm focus while at the same time allowing operators to do the best business possible. It's a truck that's going to carry us far into the future," he said.

Volvo started working in 2006 to update the old FH model, introduced in 1993. The cab was too small, A-pillars and mirrors were obscuring visibility, and the driving characteristics/road holding were not the best in class.

The Volvo FH series comes with a new independent front suspension system with rack and pinion steering. This means that each front wheel is suspended separately from the other so it does not affect the movement of the other wheel. Since both front wheels move independently, the result, according to Volvo is gentler, more settled drive on the road. Also, since movements are not transmitted from one wheel to the other, the sense of precision and control also increases.

The cab needed to be larger without losing aerodynamics, so a completely new cab structure was developed. The new cab is one cubic meter larger inside (35 cubic feet). According to Claes Nilsson, the new cab is not expected to end up in North America in a conventional.

Volvo has spent 10 million engineering hours in developing the new truck.

Ten trucks from the new Volvo FH series will be on show at the upcoming IAA in Hannover later this month (including one that has been crashed into a concrete wall), as well as a range of new components such as the I-Torque driveline and Volvo Trucks' first Euro 6 engine. Visitors will get an up-close look at what makes the new Volvo FH and Volvo FH16 set a new bar for trucks globally.