Underground mining is one of engine major Volvo Penta’s key markets – and when you take individual market segments into account, from power generation to material handling, mining is one of the areas where its market share is highest – over 30%, and that is despite tough competition from Deutz, Caterpillar/Perkins, Cummins, MTU etc.
This is mainly in load and haul machines ie underground LHDs and trucks, but also in utility vehicles; and it has happened in a relatively short space of time through close partnerships with some of the leading OEMs like Sandvik – working through challenges at real mines to refine its solutions. This relationship with Sandvik culminated in the development of its Stage V mining engines – for example for its mining trucks the TWD1683VE which is offered with the TH663i and TH551i or the TAD1385VE which is offered with the TH545i – building on the already long proven performance of the Stage II/Tier 2 then Stage IV/Tier 4f engines for these machines with added DPF technology. In utility machines underground, Normet and MacLean Engineering are examples of important customers.
At CONEXPO-CONAGG 2026 recently in Las Vegas, IM Editorial Director Paul Moore sat down with David Hamilton, Head of Volvo Penta China, to discuss its mining journey and strengths. Hamilton is also commercially responsible for the mining market globally for the company.
He said that Volvo Penta has made a big effort – and a lot of associated investment – to dig deeper and concentrate on the specific needs of the sub segments it is operating in, to become more successful with its engines in those areas and to get to know those specific mining end customers better.
IM Editorial Director Paul Moore and David Hamilton, Head of Volvo Penta China at CONEXPO 2026
“We’re obviously a supplier of engines to major underground OEMs that in their turn supply their mine operator and contractor end customers. For both us and the OEM partners to be successful, we have opted to support them as closely as possible to develop the right products for mining applications.”
Hamilton is based in Shanghai – and part of that has to do with the fact that some of its newest underground mining OEM customers are now Chinese groups. Prior to this role he was heading up Volvo Penta in northern Europe – where mining was also a major market.
So what are some of the ways in which Volvo Penta has customised or ‘proofed’ engines for underground mining with major customers like Sandvik?
“It is close to 15 years ago now that we really entered the underground mining market, which was around the same time we invested a lot in our industrial engine range. Before then, we were an unknown in that market. We were strong in the marine sector and had a history of innovation but in mining you can’t just send out industrial engines into those extreme environments with a lot of humidity, air pressure and temperature variations and expect them to perform. It was a tough challenge for us – as we had set out to maximise uptime and productivity in mining but to do that had to work hard internally in tandem with listening to the likes of Sandvik on what is important to them when developing new machines from an engine performance point of view plus how to work with their existing machines. Rather than just saying this is the base engine that we have, this is the product for mining, and making our own modifications – we asked them what they wanted first and why – then based on our dialogue with them we made extensive changes then carried out testing across their numerous use cases.  such as the lengths of typical downhill and uphill hauls being trammed by an underground truck plus when and how long it is loaded or unloaded. Then how are these cycles related to how the engine turbo behaves and reacts.”
Hamilton described this as “hardcore tailor-making for specific use cases.” He adds: “I think in the beginning, it was very much around the mining market certification such as with CanmetMINING. Then we tackled things like the valve drain, fuel lines and cable harnesses – ensuring everything was heavy duty enough for mining, and that’s a journey coming from an initial more automotive or general industrial type of product that had to be redeveloped to work in underground.”
Hamilton says it went hand in hand from the beginning with Sandvik and still does, “but that it was and is clear that the engines developed as a result of that are not exclusively for them – but they have brought a lot of benefits for them and us – it’s been a mutual success.” In the range of machines where Volvo Penta engines have applicability, it is the 100% supplier to Sandvik Load & Haul. “Its been an extremely valuable and insightful journey together with them where we both learned a lot – and of course in mining it has helped us establish our brand and a very high level of credibility – we proved that we could be a key player in mining engines.”
Hamilton added: “With Sandvik we don’t have any communication barriers – our respective engineering teams – Sandvik in Turku and our team in Gothenburg – work closely and directly together and there are quite often teams travelling back and forth to both locations.”
More recently, the relationship has also evolved with Sandvik’s new 63 t class diesel-electric trucks. “We have been part of that journey with them, including focusing on the engine behaviour, the load cycles, and the software development so that the engine performance fits with the rest of the machine and the electric wheel motors.”
Does Hamilton see a greater market push for diesel-electric and hybrid mining equipment? “Yes. I think the expected boom for fully electric machines has slowed down in various segments including mining as customers want to take more of a staged or transitional approach. For now the move to diesel-electric or hybrid brings some immediate productivity benefits.”
What about the surface mining market? “This is not a large market for us today in the same way that underground mining is – that said it is still a focus and we are slowly making more entry there such as with DTH, top hammer and larger rotary drill rigs. In China we have worked with XCMG plus in Europe our 8 litre engine is used in Sandvik’s Ranger DXi boom drill, as an example.” In the mine infrastructure development and quarrying market, Volvo Penta is present in a number of mobile crushers and screens from major brands like Sandvik, Keestrack, McCloskey, Metso, Lippman and Pilot Crushtec. And its engines are also used in some quarry class excavators from Sunward, Gradall and others.
Hamilton added: “We have a lot of competitors – both Western and in other markets like China – that produce high performance engines as well. But another area where I think we stand out is the way in which we support our customers throughout the whole journey. I mean, starting from when you look into the engine design and how to make the most of available space in the machine, then how to install and configure the products – all the way through to the mining customer and how we support them. Our service model is very much tailor made together with the OEM. If they want to go down the self service route, then we support them with that – but if they want us to take care of everything, then we can do that too. So, I think that’s quite unique.”
Looking back at underground mining and the Chinese OEMs, where is Volvo Penta seeing success? “The Chinese engine market for underground is competitive as well – both for the machines being used within China and for export. But the performance of our engines, plus the close way in which we work with customers and our service approach has helped us become a major player there.”
In October 2025, Fambition unveiled its high performance FL105+ LHD featuring powerful dynamics, robust structure, intelligent control, and operator-centred comfort – all powered by a Volvo Penta engine
Qingdao-based Fambition, for example, is one of the largest underground load and haul OEMs in China and one of the most successful in export markets including to Chile, Peru, Mexico, Serbia and elsewhere – and all of their large models today utilise Volvo Penta engines. This includes the all new FL105+ as well as the 18 t class F18 LHD with the Tier 3 TAD1352VE engine, the 14 t class F14 LHD with Tier 3 TAD1351VE plus smaller Volvo Penta engines in the FL10 and FL07. Its engines are also used across Fambition’s underground truck lineup, such as in the 45 t payload FT45 and 30 t payload FT30.
Hamilton: “Fambition is really an impressive company when it comes to Chinese underground equipment OEMs – they have doubled their sales in only a few years and are really focused on both the domestic and export markets – and approaching it with a very international strategy.”
In fact, Hamilton said if you consolidate all of the customers it has in Chinese underground mining OEMs – it is close to becoming its largest single market in underground mining globally for Volvo Penta sales. And it is not limited to Fambition – it includes other fast growing customers like Yantai Xingye, Jiangxi Siton, LGMRT and many others. “The OEM market in China has matured a lot. And the underground mines there – across iron ore, copper, phosphate and many other commodities have huge scale and very large mining fleets.”
Today all of the Volvo Penta engines for Chinese OEMs are made in Europe; this shows the extent to which these customers are looking to maximise their equipment performance. Looking to the future, Volvo Penta is also developing its own complete electric driveline solutions for underground mining, which will be aimed at the global market, including China. It has already rolled out e-drivelines for EVs in other segments like marine and some off-highway areas, so mining is an obvious next step. And given the leading position of China in areas like battery technology and electric motors – Hamilton said these drivelines are likely to be produced there based on its own development but also through partnerships with its own component suppliers.
Concluding, Hamilton commented: “Mining is a core market for us and a growing one. If you can make an engine work underground, it can more or less work anywhere – it gives it a stamp of performance and durability to handle tough conditions. So for us in some ways it is the ultimate test and assurance of the quality of our products.”
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