Volvo Trucks’ Dublin plant rolls out regional hauler

The first units of the new Volvo VNR, a regional hauler, rolled off the assembly line in February at Volvo Trucks North America’s 566-acre campus in Dublin. By mid-May, more than 2,000 orders had been placed, fueling Volvo Trucks’ effort to increase its market share of freight-hauling vehicles.

Built in 1982, the Dublin plant is Volvo Trucks’ largest manufacturing facility in the world at 2.3 million square feet. In 2019, the company announced plans to invest $400 million to upgrade the facility, which included adding a 350,000-square-foot facility for cab welding.

Production of the new VNR sparked optimism in the region following last year’s layoffs of about 350 workers from the Pulaski County facility. The plant has since rehired 80 employees, bringing its workforce to about 3,000, according to Allison Scudder, a spokesperson for Volvo Trucks North America.
Whenever Volvo Trucks redesigns a model, the area’s economy gets a boost.

“We get excited when they’re reengineering because that means that we’re going to see Volvo retain and gain market share, and that means jobs,” says Pulaski County Administrator Jonathan Sweet.
A number of Volvo Trucks’ suppliers are also located in the region, points out Michael Solomon, the county’s economic development director.

“When they’re doing better, or when they’ve got a new model,” Solomon says, “it gives us an uptick in our manufacturing.”

Announced in 2025, the VNR is built to navigate urban routes, where agility and visibility are key. It has a sloped hood design and a larger panoramic windshield to improve visibility and onboard technologies to support driving in congested city traffic. Additionally, the regional hauler features integrated side-curtain airbags.

“The VNR is the safest truck we’ve ever built in North America,” says Volvo Trucks Product Marketing Manager Madeline Sullivan.

The new VNR is available in a variety of Class 8 configurations — Class 8 trucks have the largest maximum weight capacity among U.S. trucks — and provides a 7.5% improvement in fuel efficiency from the legacy model, gained through enhanced aerodynamics, advances in engine technology and idle-shutdown systems. These features make the truck more attractive as fuel costs rise, according to Sullivan.

The truck’s timing for entering the market is good as demand for regional trucks is favorable due to shifts toward e-commerce and tighter delivery windows.

“It is definitely a very popular space for our customers,” says Sullivan.