The Volvo FH is a heavy truck range manufactured by the Swedish company Volvo Trucks. It was originally introduced in late 1993 as the FH12 and FH16. FH stands for Forward control High entry, where numbers denominate engine capacity in litres. The FH range is one of the most successful truck series ever having sold more than 400,000 units worldwide. In September 2012, Volvo Trucks re-launched the Volvo FH with significant technology upgrades. History In late 1993 Volvo unveiled its replacement for the F cabover series in production for almost 15 years. The development of FH in what it appeared to be a clean sheet of paper design took seven long years. The development of the all-new design 12-litre engine with its overhead camshaft and electronic unit injectors technology placed Volvo among the world's leading engine designers. First generation (1993–2002) There were two models, FH12 and FH16 which shared common cabs and chassis. The FH12 won "Truck of the year" award in 1994. The 16-litre engine, gearboxes, and the driveline were carried over from the previous generation, albeit with improvements and additional features including all-new Volvo engine management and its diagnostics for the D12A engine. Design and technology Cab The cab produced at Umeå from hot-dip galvanized, high tensile steel allowed for greater strength at thinner panels and box sections while reducing overall weight. The new FH cab was more aerodynamically efficient, with improved ergonomics and seating while reducing the overall weight of the cab by almost 30%. The cabin was extensively tested in a wind tunnel to confirm shape aerodynamics properties to reduce air-drag thus improving fuel efficiency. The cab featured a more sharply raked windscreen while wedge-shaped sides rounded into the front panel at much wider radius corners and the rear vision mirrors were also streamlined. The cabin was subject to the toughest cab impact test where procedure involved placing a 15-tonne static weight on the roof and one-tonne pendulum striking at the cab rear wall and at the windscreen pillars, at the end of which the cab doors must be able to be opened. In 1995 Volvo FH series became first heavy-duty truck to be fitted with an SRS airbag to further improve passive safety. D12 engine From the design angle, the new D12A engine was one of the largest engine projects from Volvo Trucks since the 1950s at the time. The basic design was still based