Volvo folds powertrain repairs into its service contract as repair costs hit $0.215 a mile

Volvo Trucks North America has launched a service contract that moves powertrain repairs into the same monthly payment as preventive maintenance, as industry repair costs keep climbing, according to FreightWaves on Oct. 19.

The Silver Service Contract, launched Monday at the American Trucking Associations' Management Conference & Exhibition in Charlotte, North Carolina, adds repair coverage for the engine, aftertreatment system, transmission and clutch to the connected preventive maintenance in Volvo's Blue Service Contract. Truck repair and maintenance costs rose 8.6% in 2025 to $0.215 per mile, up from $0.198 per mile in 2024, according to the American Transportation Research Institute's 2026 Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking. Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks North America, called maintenance and powertrain repairs the least predictable costs a fleet carries and said Silver puts them inside a single monthly payment. The contract is sold through Volvo's network of nearly 400 authorized dealers in the United States and Canada and is available for the all-new VNL and all-new VNR.

Blue sets each truck's service schedule from connected-vehicle data and artificial intelligence, using powertrain operating conditions including fuel consumption, transport cycle, gross combination weight, topography and idle time. Silver keeps those benefits and extends coverage to other select driveline components, including the wearable clutch lining kit. When a truck comes in for an unplanned repair, any preventive maintenance that is due can be completed on the same visit; scheduled work includes valve adjustments, diesel particulate filter cleaning, diesel exhaust fluid tank flushes, and transmission and rear axle oil changes, with the list varying by contract mileage. Volvo's third contract level, Gold, is a full-service plan sold with the VNR Electric.

What fleets cannot yet judge is the price. Volvo did not disclose what Silver costs, how long contracts run or whether mileage caps apply, and its release does not say how the coverage works alongside the standard truck warranty. Optional add-ons — including annual Department of Transportation inspections, truck washes, on-site maintenance and pickup and delivery — vary by location. Customers financing a truck through Volvo Financial Services can bundle Silver into the truck payment and spread its cost over the financing period interest-free, and each customer works with a Volvo Fleet Manager at a certified dealer who plans maintenance from the trucks' data and handles service campaigns, recalls and over-the-air software updates. If a truck breaks down away from its home dealer, the fleet manager coordinates with the servicing dealer through Volvo Action Service, the company's 24/7 roadside assistance and service coordination network. "The Volvo Fleet Manager becomes part of the customer's team," Voorhoeve said. "They know the fleet, they know what preventive service is due, and they handle it."