We wonder how many top designers there are who, in order to do \u2013 as he says \u2013 \u201csomething that has never been done before,\u201d abandon the glory of premium cars to dedicate themselves to heavy vehicles. We met Jonathan Disley ten years ago, when he was responsible for interior design at Volvo. Which is no small thing. His name came to the fore in the following years for a series of notable concepts from the Swedish company, the latest – at the end of the seven years spent at the helm of the Volvo design studio in Shanghai – the EM90 people wagon. We find him again in Gothenburg, where Mikael Gordh has become leader of Volvo Group Design, responsible for all the Volvo trucks and proud of the latest two new products. Mastodons, this time: the European FH Aero and the American VNL (the initials of Volvo-North America-Long hood). \u201cHere \u2013 he says \u2013 it is really possible to influence the world of work.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
![\"Volvo](\"https:\/\/autodesignmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/2024070402_VolvoTrucks.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Each truck represents a job<\/strong><\/span> Looking for balance<\/strong><\/span> Efficiency and sustainability<\/strong><\/span>
\n\u201cThe biggest change in the transition from cars to trucks \u2013 explains Disley \u2013 is that each truck represents an activity, a job. Every mile and every minute counts. If the vehicle is stationary, you lose money. If you burn too much fuel you lose more money.\u201d So, with his two teams of designers – the European one from Gothenburg and the American one from Greensboro in North Carolina – he was committed to increasing efficiency: by 5 percent compared to previous models. \u201cWe worked a lot \u2013 he explains \u2013 on aerodynamics. The American one, with an elongated nose as is common in the United States, is slightly more efficient, although there is strong turbulence between the blast of air on the large grille and that on the enormous windshield.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\nBoth projects had already been started two and a half years ago, when Disley returned from Shanghai: it was a matter of developing them. \u201cMarket research, analysis of user needs and also of the competition. And then the usual doubts: the balance between form and function, between aesthetics and practicality.\u201d Above all, the American VNL was all new and required particular attention, between work in virtual reality and Disley’s regular trips to Greensboro.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\nParadoxically, the most linear gestation was that of the VNL, led by Brian Balicki who is head of design at Volvo Trucks North America, supported by Alexander Henriques (exteriors), Jason Dabel (interiors) and Brooke Elliot (senior CMF designer). For FH Aero, however, the path was slower, perhaps also due to the quantity of different solutions in the initial research. In the end, explains Disley, a fusion between Scandinavian solidity and sophisticated shapes prevailed, \u201cto obtain a vehicle that exudes power and presence on the road.\u201d \u201cThe important thing \u2013 he adds \u2013 was efficiency and sustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>