3 Priorities Driving Volvo CE Innovation for 2026 and Beyond

You look to Volvo CE for creative solutions to help you adapt to changing market conditions, new regulations and disruptions — viewing these challenges as opportunities for growth.

That powerful statement — which summarizes what I hear from many of you during site visits and dealer conversations — is the biggest takeaway from my travels this year. It sets a clear expectation for us to lead in construction innovation and safety.

It’s an exciting time to look ahead. And as 2025 wraps up, it’s a natural time for reflection — to think about the progress we’ve made and, more importantly, to listen to what you, our customers, are telling us. Here at Volvo CE North America, we know our path forward is always guided by people like you who rely on our machines and services every day.

This expectation to deliver solutions has always been our foundation, and it frames the three core priorities you shared with us this year and how we’re carrying those ideas forward in 2026 and beyond.

1. Maximizing Uptime and Long-Term Value
You’ve made it clear that minimizing downtime and maximizing long-term value is at the core of your business. Every investment you make in equipment needs to result in satisfactory performance, which is why you consistently prioritize machine reliability and uptime.

How we’re addressing this:
When you talk about uptime, it’s not just about a reliable machine — it’s about a comprehensive support system. It’s why we’ve been aggressively focused on driving high uptime, not just avoiding downtime.

• Improved parts availability: You’ve seen the investments we’ve made in our warehouse locations, which has, in turn, improved the availability of parts (and the turn times to get them) for your Volvo construction equipment.

• Support services: This focus on reliable, high-performing equipment is supported by our dealer and OEM after-sales services, remote troubleshooting and uptime guarantees.

• Measuring success: Customers have told us these efforts are working. Our customer satisfaction index is at the highest rating it’s been in years, demonstrating that our commitment to uptime is resonating.

2. Simplicity in Operation and Business Engagement
You want advanced machine capabilities without increased complexity. We know finding skilled heavy equipment operators can be difficult, and your goal is to increase productivity while ensuring the machines are easy to use. Similarly, you expect the process of doing business with Volvo CE to be straightforward and consistent across our entire dealer network.

How we’re addressing this:
We’re committed to securing improvements while maintaining that essential ease of use. This means focusing on simplicity on two fronts: the machine and the business process.

• Ease of use in machines: We’re introducing features that make it easier for any operator to get the most out of our equipment. I can give you two examples: our new wheel loader auto bucket fill feature and the integrated in-field design on our newest series of excavators (which brings all the data onto one screen). Both support improved operator efficiency and consistency, which is vital as you work to maximize productivity and secure new operators in a challenging labor market.

• A consistent experience across every touchpoint: You expect the process of acquiring a machine, ordering parts and getting service to happen on your timeline and on your terms — be it in person, online or over the phone. That’s why we’re hyper focused on innovating to give you personalized information, convenient access and a consistent experience. We share best practices and support a consistent parts e-commerce site across our dealer network. And since many of you operate across different dealer territory lines, we’re also striving to ensure you can easily move your business and get a consistent Volvo experience no matter which dealer you visit.

3. Seamless Automation, Connectivity and Integration
Automation, reliable connectivity and remote software download are increasingly important on your jobsites. You’re seeing opportunities for automation to address the difficulties in finding construction equipment operators and know that these technologies must be integrated, as automation relies on robust connectivity and data.

How we’re addressing this:

• Flexible technology that works with your existing fleet: We know automation doesn’t have to be full automation — any capability we can provide to take a good operator to great is welcomed. As an example of this incremental approach to better construction equipment productivity, we’re leveraging solutions like Connected Map to make sites safer and more efficient. And this solution is brand agnostic, meaning it works for those of you with mixed fleets.

• Understanding the nuances: My travels have reinforced that while challenges are similar across the country, the nuances of where you are or what problem you’re facing matter too. For example, one customer showed me they’re automating tasks that many of us might view as simple, like running automated soil compactors overnight to prepare a lift for the next morning. This reinforced that we need to look across our full product spectrum for what could be automated and remain absolutely customer-centric in our approach.

Building Trust in Heavy Equipment Data and Connectivity
All of this connectivity leads to an increased reliance on data to support your uptime and integrate with your business targets. As you make more data-based decisions in your operations, trust in that data is paramount.

Just as we’ve always been your trusted partner on jobsite safety, we know we must be your trusted business partner on cyber safety too. Customers are increasingly asking us how we treat data and what we do with it. While threats and malicious actors are constantly evolving, we work closely with our supplier partners and our dealer network to create awareness and fight against threats. We ensure that what you share with us is handled with the highest level of integrity and safety, so you can focus on running your business.

Looking Ahead to 2026
These three expectations — uptime, simplicity and integration — all link directly to your goal of driving lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and improved productivity. This is also why we’re seeing customers reassessing acquisition strategies, including purchasing used equipment, more rentals and exploring Equipment-as-a-Service (EaaS) models.

We’re committed to evolving our products and services to meet these needs. The feedback you’ve given us over the years has been instrumental, and we’ve had our largest product and services launch over the last two years as a direct result.

There’s still more to come on innovative products and services that will support the industry transformation you’re demanding. We look forward to sharing more — and hearing more — at the big show this March. See you at CONEXPO 2026!