The Volvo FMX heavy duty truck has an innovative I-Shift gearbox for heavy loads, and delivers fuel savings by responding to vehicle mass, road inclination, speed and acceleration.
Coupled to a Volvo diesel engine, it reduces fuel consumption by up to 5% compared to a manual gearbox.
The I-Shift gearbox allows the FMX to handle tough and hilly terrain with high levels of productivity and driver comfort.
Hub reduction
Also, the FMX with hub reduction can support the maximum axle load of 33 tons and the combination weight of 120 tons.
The truck is fitted with reduction gears in each hub. The hub reduction gears reduce loads on the driveline so that tractive effort can be transferred to the ground without wheel slip, giving excellent grip and very low tyre wear.
“The hub reduction is perfect for construction work. It provides good grip when the surface is slippery, which result in higher truck productivity” says Mitch Peden, managing director of Volvo Trucks Malaysia.
In 2018, Kotamas Oil Sdn Bhd, a specialist in petroleum haulage from Sabah added 15 units of custom-made Volvo FMX 6X4 with tandem axle lift feature into their fleet.
Tandem Axle Lift is designed for operations where the driver drives heavily loaded in one direction and empty in the other.
With the push of a button on the dashboard, the driver can disengage and raise the drive axle to improve fuel efficiency by up to 4% on average.
As soon as the truck is loaded, the drive axle automatically lowers and engages to ensure maximum traction and driveability.
Kotamas was the first in Malaysia who acquired this technology into the Volvo FMX to address the demanding hilly and rough road conditions in Sabah.
Through this, the fuel consumption has also improve remarkably by 15 to 20 percent.
"The Tandem Axle Lift is a perfect fit for customers who travel regularly on rough terrain. This is especially true for customers based in East Malaysia where roads are riddled with pot holes and sometimes not tarred, uneven and hilly. It provides better traction, and helps to reduce tyre wear and tear and more importantly, saves cost," says Peden.
The Volvo FMX made its inroad into the Malaysian market in 2014.
Since then it has been the top selling model not just in the construction segment, but also widely used in logging, mining and agriculture (CPO tanker) sector, to handle the tough operating conditions and demanding transport assignments.
The Volvo FMX 6X4 is the most sought-after model after the Volvo FM series.
“The Volvo FMX was a game changer and it soon became very popular among both haulage operators and drivers for its powerful performance and versatility in handling rough road conditions,” says Peden.
The functionality of the Volvo FMX included a strong towing eye, headlamp protection, new anti-slip steps and a handy ladder.
With a three-piece steel bumper, corners made from 3-mm-thick steel, a solid crankcase protection plate and a protective bullbar, this was a sturdy construction truck.
The air suspension gave an increased ground clearance of 300 mm.
The towing eye could tow up to 32 tons, for challenging construction environments.
The innovative features of the Volvo FMX have been presented in many YouTube videos:
The Hook
Volvo Trucks' former CEO Claes Nilsson illustrates the power of the towing eye of the Volvo FMX.
The Technician
This video demonstrates the ground clearance of the Volvo FMX.
The Hamster
A hamster controls a Volvo FMX, thanks to Volvo Dynamic Steering.
The Epic Split
Volvo Dynamic Steering became well-known throughout the world following the stunt by Jean-Claude Van Damme, who performs an epic split between two reversing Volvo FM trucks. The video, which has almost one hundred million views on YouTube, is regarded by many as one of the best commercials ever made.
