Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: Volvo Group demonstrates strategic policy engagement that is partially aligned with policy pathways aiming to deliver the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement. The company has stated support for high-level climate policy, but took both positive and negative positions on key truck-related regulations globally. Volvo Group is a member of multiple industry associations that actively oppose policies to decarbonize road transport.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Volvo Group has mostly positive top-line messaging on climate policy. The company has stated support for GHG emissions reductions in line with 1.5°C on its corporate website, accessed in June 2025, and supported the goals of the Paris Agreement in its 2024 Annual Report, released in February 2025. CEO Martin Lundstedt supported government regulation to address climate change in the 2024 Annual Report, but in a January 2024 statement Lundstedt also argued that in the context of decarbonization, the “regulatory landscape is starting to be a curse.”
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Volvo Group has negatively engaged on GHG emission standards for vehicles in the US and EU. In the US, in June 2023 regulatory comments, Volvo Group strongly opposed the EPA's proposed tightening of 2027 heavy-duty GHG standards. It advocated for flexibilities such as a slower phase-out of advanced technology credit multipliers, and called for the delay of "Phase 3" GHG standards from 2028 to 2030. In April 2024 statements, the company stated it was “completely aligned” with the policy, but suggested that without sufficient infrastructure the policy would have to be adjusted.
In the EU, Volvo Group appeared to oppose a 100% zero-emission CO2 target for heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) and a short-term 2030 GHG reduction target in a December 2022 letter to the EU Commission. More positively, Volvo Group CEO, Martin Lundstedt, opposed modifications that would weaken the EU’s HDV emissions standards (Carbon Correction Factor) in an October 2023 joint letter.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Volvo Group appeared to have both positive and negative engagement on the decarbonization of heavy-duty road transport. CEO Martin Lundstedt advocated extensively for government policies to accelerate the decarbonization of heavy-duty vehicles, including in the company’s 2024 Annual Report, released February 2025, January 2025 statements in Transport Topics Magazine, a January 2025 speech at CES, and statements from a November 2024 speech at Fossilfritt Sverige. However, the company appeared to advocate for a technology-neutral approach to decarbonization that includes a prolonged role for the internal combustion engine in July 2025 statements on social media and in statements appearing in an ACEA Report.
In the US, after previously opposing the adoption of the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule in multiple states including Colorado in April 2022 regulatory comments and Maryland in February 2022 testimony, Volvo Group agreed to a compromise with California regulators and became a signatory to the Clean Trucks Partnership according to a June 2023 press release. As a part of the agreement, Volvo Group agreed to not oppose the adoption of the ACT rule in any state. Volvo Group later advocated to expand tax-credits for zero emission vehicles in a May 2024 joint letter.
In the UK, Volvo Group subsidiary, Renault Trucks appeared to oppose a zero-emission vehicle mandate for heavy goods vehicles in a September 2024 Motor Transport article. Renault Trucks appeared unsupportive of the van trajectory for the UK's ZEV mandate and advocated for numerous flexibilities that may weaken the stringency of the policy in a May 2023 May 2023 consultation response found via FOI request. In the same consultation response the company appeared unsupportive of an initial 2030 ICE phase-out date in the UK for vans.
In Australia, Volvo Group supported the decarbonization of the power sector and electrification of transportation in a March 2024 submission to the Australian Enquiry into the Transition to Electric Vehicles.
In India, Vinod Aggarwal, the CEO of Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles (a Volvo subsidiary), supported the FAME program but also advocated for the use of gaseous fuels in a September 2024 SIAM press release. Earlier, the company advocated for the use of LNG or CNG to decarbonize heavy-duty vehicles in a September 2023 Business Standard article.
In the EU, Renault Trucks CEO Bruno Blin advocated for policies to increase demand for zero-emission vehicles in a June 2025 post on social media. Lundstedt called for the removal of permitting delays globally to accelerate the transition towards renewables in the energy mix in a January 2023 Op-Ed.
Industry Association Governance: Volvo Group disclosed an incomplete list of its industry association memberships in 2025, though it has not published a review of its industry association alignment. Volvo’s CEO, Martin Lundstedt, is Chairman of the Commercial Vehicle Board at the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA). Volvo Group is a member of numerous obstructive US trade associations, including the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA), The Transport Project, and National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).
A detailed assessment of the company's corporate review on climate policy engagement can be found on InfluenceMap's CA100+ Investor Hub here.
InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q3 2025.