The Heart of a Volvo: Who Makes Its Engines?

Volvo is a Swedish manufacturing company that produces cars, trucks, and many other automobile vehicles as well as equipment. It’s famous around the globe since it manufactures very reliable cars for everyday use.

As you may know, not all automobile manufacturing companies produce all of their parts on their own. And the same goes for engines.

But what about Volvo? Does Volvo manufacture its own engines?

Who Makes Volvo Engines?

Currently, the Volvo Engine Architecture, also knowns as VEA, produces the engines found in all Volvo vehicles, from cars to trucks to buses. Previously, the company also relied on engines produced by other manufacturers, such as Ford. But, as of right now, Volvo has taken over the production of all the engines, which are now made by its Scandinavian company.

Who else makes Volvo engines?

All engines used in Volvo cars, trucks, and other vehicles are manufactured by the Volvo Engine Architecture (VEA). This Scandinavian company manufactures all three- and four-cylinder engines featured in Volvo vehicles.

Before that, though, engines used in Volvo vehicles were also made by the Ford company. But in 2014, this changed, and all Volvo cars now used engines manufactured by the Volvo Engine Architecture.

Does Ford still make Volvo engines?

For many years, until 2014, Volvo used a mix of their five-cylinder units and Ford engines. That year, all engines in newly manufactured Volvo cars were made by Volvo, specifically the Volvo Engine Architecture.

As of right now, though, Volvo doesn’t use engines manufactured by other companies in their cars.

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Has any other company made engines for Volvo cars?

Aside from Ford, Volvo used to utilize other engines in their cars as well.

The Volvo 400 series, which was produced between 1988 and 1996, used Renault engines. These engines, manufactured by Renault, were used in many Volvo cars during those years but are no longer in use.

Volvo used to utilize Ford and Renault engines for various reasons. For one, it allowed them to buy an already-existing engine and modify them to their needs and requirements.

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This helped them save money while personalizing their vehicles.

Now that Volvo is owned by the Geely Group, it produced its own engines in addition to working with Geely on their joint venture.

Where are Volvo engines made?

Almost all Volvo engines are manufactured in Sweden, more specifically in Skövde. In addition, the Volvo Engine Architecture company also has manufacturing plants in China (since 2016) and Malaysia (since 2022).

In addition, Volvo has entered a partnership with Geely – a Chinese manufacturing company. As a result of this partnership, Volvo engines are also partially produced in plants owned by this company.

Are Volvo engines reliable?

Volvo engines are known to be both reliable and strong. They are built to last, with its most popular model, a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder, being considered one of their best.

With that said, whether Volvo cars with Volvo engines are reliable for you depends on your needs and requirements.

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For example, those who tend to drive on hard roads might need stronger cars with more powerful engines than those only driving through the city.

So, even though Volvo engines are considered to be quite reliable, it’s important to consider where you’ll be driving before deciding on which car to buy.

How many types of Volvo engines are there?

Currently, Volvo produces two types of engines: petrol and diesel.

Volvo petrol engines are produced in two types: Global Engine Petrol 3 (GEP3) and Volvo Engine Petrol 4 (VEP4). The first type is manufactured jointly by Volvo and Geely, whereas the latter is used by Volvo, Lynk&Co, and Geely vehicles.

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Volvo’s diesel engine is known as the Volvo Engine Diesel 4 (VED4). It’s a four-cylinder engine that’s the last of Volvo’s diesel engines, per their announcement in 2017.

In addition to that, there have been many engine types and models that are no longer in production. Still, Volvo cars containing these engines are still available on the market, though they’re used and much older.

Are there still Volvo cars with non-Volvo engines?

Since 2014, all Volvo cars have been equipped with engines made by the Volvo Engine Architecture. This means that all Volvo cars manufactured after this date contain Volvo engines.

With that being said, there are still many Volvo cars driving these days that are equipped with Ford engines. This is because the Volvo company used to rely on a mix of their own engines and Ford units.

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As a result, if you own a Volvo vehicle that was produced before the year 2014, chances are that it might have a Ford engine.

In addition to that, older Volvo models might also contain Renault engines since the Volvo company used them as well.

So, if you purchase an older Volvo car, you might find that it doesn’t contain a Volvo or Ford engine but a Renault one instead.

Do Volvo engines have many problems?

All types of engines might experience problems, and it’s not limited to those produced by the Volvo Engine Architecture company.

With that said, Volvo engines are known for some common issues.

Firstly, Volvo engines tend to overheat. According to many Volvo users, engine overheating is the most common problem plaguing all Volvo cars. In most cases, this issue is caused by issues in the cooling fan.

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Aside from that, Volvo vehicles are generally known to have reliable and powerful engines. Of course, this depends on the type of engine and model of the car.

For instance, Volvo trucks have more powerful engines than smaller vehicles produced by their automobile manufacturer.

In the same way, if you’re not using your Volvo car on strenuous roads, you might not run into engine overheating issues. So, it all depends on your own personal needs.

Conclusion

All Volvo cars produced after the year 2014 are equipped with Volvo-owned engines. Some cars produced before that year might include engines manufactured by Ford, and these cars are still available for purchase in the used format.

Currently, though, all Ford cars have Ford engines made by the Ford Engine Architecture company.

Sources: Volvo Press Release, Volvo Group, Research Gate, and Volvo Trucks