When Volvo started in 1927, they ordered their engines from the engine manufacturer Penta in Skövde. The first engine was the inline four-cylinderside valve 28 hp (21 kW) Type DA. In 1931, Volvo acquired a majority of the Penta stock, and in 1935, Penta became a subsidiary of Volvo. For the engines used by Volvo Trucks, see List of Volvo Trucks engines.
Previous owner, Ford Motor Company, allowed Volvo to continue to design their own engines, with a new-generation straight-six engine introduced in 2006. More recently the VEA program has been launched. VEA engines are branded as "Drive-E" in marketing. In 2017, Volvo Cars announced they will no longer develop diesel engines.[1]
In 2010 Volvo changed their engine branding nomenclature so that it is independent of engine size and number of cylinders. The letter "D" designates diesel and "T" petrol. Letters are followed by a number that dictate the level of power. The table below list the lower limit power required for each emblem in 2010.[2]
Diesel
Power [metric hp]
Petrol
Power [metric hp]
D8
300
T8
325
D6
250
T6
275
D5
200&215
T5
225
D4
165
T4
175
D3
135
T3
150
D2
115
T2
125
D1
90
T1
100
Engines in production
Petrol
GEP3
The Global Engine Petrol 3 is a three-cylinder engine jointly developed by Volvo and Geely based on the Volvo Engine Architecture. It is marketed under the Drive-E and G-power names.
T6 320 PS (235 kW) turbo and supercharger. From MY2016
Polestar 367 PS (270 kW) turbo and supercharger. From MY2017
T8 320 PS (235 kW) turbo, supercharger, and rear electric motor developing 87 PS (64 kW). From MY2016
Diesel
VED4
The Volvo Engine Diesel 4 is a four-cylinder engine with 2.0L displacement. It is used by Volvo in certain markets and is the final family of Volvo Cars diesel engines after they announced in 2017 that they would no longer develop diesel engines.[3] Most possible reason of that is a damaged overall reputation of diesel engines for passenger cars after 2015 Volkswagen Group emissions scandal.
The B18 of 1960 was the company's next major advance, with five main bearings.
1962–1974 B18 — 1.8 L (1,778 cc) — new-design 1.8 & 2.0 litres overhead valve (OHV) 8v fitted into all Volvo models from 1961 to 1974 (except the 164) and 1975 U.S.-spec 240 models
B18C - single carburetor version - fitted in the Volvo BM 320 tractor
Volvo introduced the PRV engine, its only V6 engine, in 1974. The PRV was available in 2.7 and 2.8 L configurations, with SOHCcylinder heads. The PRV was developed together with Renault and Peugeot; thus the acronym name PRV.
Volvo began a line of modular engines in 1990, with straight-four, straight-five, and straight-six variants. In 2016 the last Volvo Modular engine was produced.
1993–2002 B52xx — 2.0 L (1,984 cc) /2.3 L (2,319 cc) / 2.4 L (2,435 cc) / 2.5 L (2,521 cc) DOHC
140 kW (190 PS; 188 hp), 420 N⋅m (310 lb⋅ft), 2.4 liter. In the following vehicles: AWD V60/XC60.
162 kW (220 PS; 217 hp), 440 N⋅m (325 lb⋅ft), 2.4 liter. In the following vehicle: AWD XC60.
Volvo-Yamaha V8
This V8 engine is designed by Volvo Cars and Yamaha Motor of Japan. The engine is built by Yamaha in Japan, and other parts of the engine are added at Volvo Cars engine unit in Skövde, Sweden.