Volvo Engine Architecture - Wikipedia

Development of the new engine family began in 2006,[39] with the decision to only produce four-cylinder engines being finalised in 2007.[39] The intention was to produce smaller,[40] more economical and environmentally friendly[41] engines that would be fitted to every Volvo model. In 2008[17] Volvo began to upgrade its Skövde engine plant and invested roughly 2 billion SEK[42] into development and tooling for the VEA.[11]

In the autumn of 2013,[22] the first cars with the new engines were delivered to customers, starting with the S60 II and V60 models.[43] At the same time, Volvo began to phase out the five-cylinder petrol and diesel engines,[44] the six-cylinder petrol engines as well as any four-cylinder engines from other manufacturers.[42] Until the end of 2015,[45] nearly all other engines had been phased out, with only a few non VEA engines remaining in production for select models.[46] Volvo nearly completed the phaseout in 2016[47] with only two variants of the five-cylinder diesel remaining in production for the 60-series models.

In December 2014, Volvo introduced the first hybrid variant of a VEA engine with the launch of the XC90 T8. It uses an electric rear axle drive (ERAD) for both electric propulsion and AWD capabilities. Hybrid engines are equipped with a crankshaft integrated starter generator (CISG) that is used to start the engine, capture otherwise lost energy when slowing down and reduce lag at low rpm by acting as an additional supercharger. Volvo refers to this type of hybrid implementation as Twin Engine.[48]

With the introduction of Volvo's new flagship sedan in 2016, the S90, the PowerPulse anti-lag system for the top of the range diesel engines was unveiled. It uses a small tank of compressed air that can instantaneously be released into the turbocharger to help with spool up, thereby reducing turbo lag.[49][50]

Volvo began testing of three-cylinder variants in mid 2014,[51] it had been planned to introduce these engines[12] in 2015. With their smaller capacity and less power they were meant to be used as base engines.[14] In 2015 no three-cylinder engines were released, instead four-cylinder variants with 1.5 L capacity were introduced as base engines on some models.[52] In the second half of 2017, the first production VEA three-cylinder engine was released with the debut of the LEVC TX, where it is used as a range extender. The first Volvo three-cylinder VEA was slated for introduction in 2018 for the XC40 under the T3 engine designation,[53] however it saw only limited release.

Due to stricter emissions laws, additional and improved emissions control equipment was introduced, beginning in the second half of 2017 for the 2018 model year. Diesel engines gained a SCR-catalyst to decrease NOx emissions, petrol engines received a particle filter. These changes are referred to as VEA GEN2. This improved the emissions rating to Euro 6c and for some engines to Euro 6d-TEMP.[54][55] The improvements were rolled out in stages and some engines, particularly the hybrid variants, remained in Euro 6 configuration until the second quarter of 2018. By model year 2019[56] all engines had been updated to achieve Euro 6d-TEMP certification, with some engines getting discontinued. All diesel engines are now equipped with Ad-Blue[nb 4] and all petrol engines with a particle filter.

Volvo has been developing a major update for all its engines since 2017. It is code-named VEA GEN3 (with VEP GEN3 and VED GEN3[57] respectively) and part of Volvo's effort to hybridize all of its engines. The MHEV variants will have a 48V network separate from the high-voltage battery system.

New B badging for hybrid vehicles.[58] Deviating from the previously introduced T<some number> (1994 with the T-5, without the dash in 1996 for X70) and D<some number> (2002 with the D5 engine, expanded in ~2009 with D4 and D3 subdivision) naming/badging scheme. The system uses kinetic energy recovery via a belt driven integrated starter generator (BISG) which is stored in a 48V 0.25 kWh lion battery. Under heavy load or rapid acceleration the BISG is used as a power adder. P0 hybridization.[59][60][61][62][63]

Nomenclature

The engine codes consist of a series of letters and digits. The actual, broadly used engine code is 7 or 8 characters long. Hybrid models can have a second engine code that is 7 characters long, mild hybrids engine codes are 6 characters long. Different, more general engine codes are used for some certification and approval documents and are 6 to 8 characters long. An additional 2 characters are used to identify each specific engine variant with an MP or HP suffix to differentiate performance.[18]

Standard engine codes:

• 1st: Fuel type (B/D) B = Bensin (Petrol),[64] D = Diesel
• 2nd: Number of cylinders (3/4)
• 3rd & 4th: Approximate displacement in deciliters, may be rounded up or down (19 ~= 2.0 L)
• 5th: Valves per cylinder (4)[64]
• 6th: Induction method (T) T = turbocharged[65]
• 7th & 8th: Engine variant (4/5/6/9/11/14/20/23/27/35/44)[64]