Volvo's latest effort at improving fuel economy for the medium heavy commercial sector was recently introduced to media, after a reveal at the Mid-America Trucking Show in March 2015, reports Trucking Info. The Adaptive Loading system is a 6x2 arrangement with a pusher axle rather than a tag. The pusher axle is liftable, which can turn the tractor into a 4x2 setup for lightly loaded or empty conditions. According to Trucking Info, Adaptive Loading uses an electronically controlled tractor air suspension that senses vehicle weight through the air pressure in the suspension. When the truck is empty or lightly loaded the system lifts the forward pusher axle and lets the rear drive axle bear the weight. When the truck is loaded and the liftable axle is down, the system will bias the suspension pressure toward the driving axle for better traction, as well as further biasing the suspension pressure toward the rear axle when additional traction is required. Chris Stadler, Volvo Truck's product marking manager for regional haul said, "Fleets participating in our initial trials are reporting fuel economy improvements in the range of 3% to 5%. They also reported better tire wear on the drive axle, which in a 6x2 arrangement is often worse than in a 6x4 arrangement."
Significance: Volvo says the option assists bulk haulers and other fleets that run a high percentage of empty or lightly loaded miles, which can cause irregular tyre wear due to the light loads, as fully inflated tyres tend to bounce along the road. Cost of ownership and operation is key to the trucking industry. Volvo says the system went into limited production late in 2014, and will be in full production by January 2016. Volvo trucks are offered in the Class 8 segment in the US, with IHS forecasting the company's sales at about 27,500 units in 2015, falling further in the forecast as Class 8 sees ongoing decline. Class 8 sales are forecast to fall from 245,500 units in 2015 to 196,000 units in 2018, with Volvo securing about 11% of the market.
