Volvo “round the world”

Volvo was not successful in sourcing a platform for small cars from one of its competitors but it recently announced that it will come up with its own together with Geely, its mother company. The latter is also planning to use the platform to develop its line of small cars.

Volvo and Geely announced recently that they will setup a research and development center in Sweden, the hometown of Volvo, that will be responsible for the development of the new platform for their small vehicles.

The R&D team will be made up of more than 200 engineers from China and Sweden. The center is expected to be operational before the end of 2013.

The details about the new platform for Volvo’s small cars are still limited but it should be using a modular design similar to the SPA or Scalable Platform Architecture. The new platform will be used for the S60 and up. The SPA platform will be first seen on the 2015 model of the XC90 that will be hitting showrooms by next year.

Although the development of the new platform will be costly at the start, Volvo and Geely will enjoy its benefits in the long run. More importantly, Volvo will no longer have to compromise with another company in developing its small car platform.

Using modular designs for the new vehicle platforms, the Swedish brand will eventually have a good chunk of cost savings in terms of rolling out multiple models using the a common architecture.

You might be asking why Volvo will need a new backbone for its small cars when it just released the V40 and its Cross Country version. Well these models are new but are using an aging platform that is shared with the Volvo C30 and sourced from Ford, its former parent company.

Volvo injects $11 billion to its cash flow to implement a five-year business strategy. This will also see the launch of new vehicle models that will used the SPA modular platform. The first to come out of this plan is the new Volvo XC90 SUV that is confirmed to hit showrooms before 2014 ends.

This is actually later than what was originally planned but we need to take note that Volvo is going through several major changes including the appointment of a new CEO and the shift of its focus to its new markets, specifically China, from its established markets.

The team is also have its hands full developing a new family of engines that will have the whole range of vehicles using four-cylinder powerplants.

The big chunk of the $11 billion funding will be spent to upgrade facilities and infrastructure in Sweden to prepare for the SPA platform and the new engine lineup.

The new Volvo XC90 will be one of the largest models to come out of the SPA platform. It will be able to accommodate seven adults and will feature functionality similar to the current vehicle. The interior of the new ride will be upgraded and feature elements like glass panels and floating center stack.

The earlier sketches of the planned XC90 shows sleek lines aspects inspired by the Volvo You concept shown back in 2011. Expect the new XC90 to have a gaping grille, vertical tail lights, and a high waistline.

While it will sport a four-cylinder engine, Volvo will implement boosting technologies such as hybrid systems, turbochargers, and direct injection of fuel.

While waiting for the roll out of the XC90, the car manufacturer will also update the S80 and the S60.

Following the premiere of the new models of the V40 range during the motor show Paris, Volvo UK recently announced the specs and the pricing for the R Design and its tall riding cousin, the Cross Country. The new Volvo models can be ordered now with the first deliveries in Britain to arrive by January 2013.

The Cross Country version of the V40 has a tag price of £22,595 for its front-wheel drive version that can give out 113 bhp. The more potent 251bhp T6 Geartronic variant with and all-wheel drive system goes for £33,875.

The SE models of the Cross Country come with autofolding side mirrors, black cover for the mirrors, sixteen-inch rims, tread plates, roof rails, and rain sensor as standard.

The Lux version of the Cross Country adds as standard, leather upholstery, xenon headlamps that can actively bend, 17-inch rims, LED running lights, theater and rear reading lights.

The other model of the Volvo lineup is the sporty Volvo R-Design that has a more aggressive styling of the hatchback. It gets redesigned bumpers, 17-inc rims, rear diffuser, unique trim and upholstery, silver matt side mirrors.

There is also a Lux version of the R-Design. In addition to the standards, the Lux R-Design gets seats with embossed R-Design logo, xenon headlamps that can actively bend, cleaning system for the headlamps, cruise control, rain sensor, and keyless start.

The V-40 R Design starts at £22,295 for the D2 113 bhp. The top of the line version goes for £31,390 for the petrol version T5 Geartronic R-Design that can output 251 bhp.

Volvo is a brand that has been well-known for producing the safest vehicles in the market today. It does not rest on its laurels though as Volvo tries to improve its safety standards so consumers can avoid accidents and further lower the number of fatalities due to road mishaps.

Volvo recently announced that they will be introducing new technologies to improve the safety of their vehicles. The new technologies are designed according to how drivers behave in today’s traffic environment.

For example, a recent study revealed that about 30% of the time, drivers in the United States are doing something else like using their mobile phone while behind the wheel. Good thing that nowadays, more and more cars are built with a lot of connectivity features. To address problems like this, Volvo developed three technologies:

Support for Autonomous Driving

This technology makes use of radar sensors and cameras to help drivers stay in their lane and also allo the vehicles to follow the cars in front of them. Depending on the inputs, the engine, steering, and brakes of the car respond automatically.

Intersection Support

Volvo again makes use of cameras and sensors to help drivers handle tricky intersection scenarios. The system alerts the drivers of detected traffic and automatically brakes when necessary. About 21.5% of fatal accidents in the U.S. happen on intersections, so this technology can help save lives.

Detection of crossing animals and pedestrians

Volvo has been using pedestrian detection technologies for quite some time. The car manufacturer improves on this with focus on helping detect animals that may suddenly appear on the road. The system is trained to recognize movements and shapes of animals

In order to gather information and test the effectiveness of these safety features, prototypes have been driven thousands of miles in different locations around the globe. The data has been collected to train the technology to adapt to different modern-day traffic situations.

Volvo is yet to announce when these technologies will be used in their production vehicles.

Swedish car manufacturer Volvo owned by Geely Holding of China recently announced that it plans to spend around $11 billion to develop new products and boost productions in the coming years.

An earlier report said that Geely will be investing the money but later on the spokesperson of the car manufacturer said that the funding will be released by Volvo itself and will include financing from borrowing and financing. The spokesperson clearly stated that it is not the Chinese firm which will release the funds.

Geely took control of the Volvo brand from Ford back in 2010 as China’s biggest acquisition in the auto industry and a show of might of the booming sector.

During an interview back in 2011, Stefan Jacoby, CEO of Volvo, revealed that there will be around $11 billion of investment to develop new products and build new factories in Chiana in order to meet the goal of delivering 800,000 units in about a decade. The brand wants to double the sales in about 10 years and also get the 20% share of the premium vehicle market of China by 2015.

Another report quotes Li Shufu, president of Geely, saying that Volvo will be using the funds to construct new factories to build its engines, boost research, and upgrade its technologies.

Volvo will also partner with Geely Automobile, also a property of Zheijang Geely Holding, in purchasing of auto parts and car components. They will also develop technologies for future electric vehicles and small engines. The goal is to revive Volvo and also recover its strength in the market.

Using the technologies of Volvo, Geely is set to come up with a new brand in China but this brand will later be under the umbrella of the Geely Automotive.

Volvo wants to achieve about 200,000 deliveries in China by 2014, a big increase from last years 47,000 units.

Volvo makes history as it unveils the XC60 Plug-in hybrid during the NAIAS in Detroit. The XC60 gasoline plug-in vehicle is a concept car which is specifically developed for the United States and China. It will be rolled out to the US market in a few years time.

The vehicle is practically a hybrid car, an all electric car, and a high performance vehicle rolled into one. The XC60 plug-in hybrid is also the first vehicle which can be plugged in into a wall outlet without needing any converter, making it really viable for home use or if the owners are on the move.

The PHEV of Volvo in the US might be marketed as an XC60 in the US or an S60 according to the topman of the company Stefan Jacoby. He also hinted that the XC60 represents the future Volvo’s we will see on the road.

The XC60 can go for 35 miles on pure electric power alone while its charging time is around 3.5 hours if you plug it into a 220 volt outlet or double that time if you use a 110V outlet which is more common. Volvo foresees the fuel economy on US roads to hit around 105 mpg and around 50 mpg when its battery runs out. The vehicle can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 5.8 seconds going to its top speed of 130 mph. The automatic transmission by the way has eight gears.

The gasoline depended portion of the drive train makes use of a 2.0L 4-cylinder engien with direct injection, turbocharger, and a stop-start technology. The gas engine outputs around 280 horsepower and transfers its power to the front wheels. The car has a 70 horsepower electric motor to move the wheels at the back. The PHEV makes use of a lithium ion battery pack with 12-kWh and it only uses around 66% of it when it runs.

The driver can easily switch from one mode to another to go Pure, Power, or Hybrid. We might be able to see this Volvo on the round by 2014 or 2015 and it could well be worth the wait.

A lot of drivers are terrified as deers or other critters suddenly lunge onto the road with the human behind the wheels just terrified or sometimes panic leading to fatal road mishaps. Volvo wants to decrease these encounters of man and animals on the road as they introduce a new technology that makes use of infrared camera and radar sensor to detect nearby animals on the road. The system will even hit the brakes for the driver when the collision is computed to be unavoidable.

Volvo seeks new technologies in order to further improve the safety of their vehicles but also gain some edge with competitors like BMW.

This warning and emergency brake system will be used in Volvo cars like the sport utility vehicle XC90 in a few ears time after completing a study of deer and moose movements in the southern parts of Sweden.

BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi lead the pack as they supply 300 times more cars and aim for sales records this year compared to Volvo. The top luxury brands are also hard at work to make their vehicles a lot safer.

Volvo, now owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group of China, is the first car manufacturer to introduce automatic braking for pedestrians back in 2010. The brand needs to stay ahead of these automotive safety innovations to keep their prices in the premium level.

Volvo aims to hit 800,000 vehicle sales by 2020 and eliminating fatal accidents across its lineup in the same year.

The brand is the leader in active-safety which involves making use of radars and cameras to improve safety. Premium brands like Mercedes and BMW has been experimenting on technologies like this a decade ago as safety enhancements using them now flows to mass market brand.

When choosing a car its safety record should be something that you think about. If you do put any thought into it you will find that any list of the safest cars almost always contains several Volvos. There are a few reasons for this but ultimately it all comes down to the fact that the company makes a serious effort to ensure that the cars that they produce are some of the safest on the road.

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Volvo officially unwrapped the new 2011 V60 which will hit dealerships this fall. The new wagon of the Swedish car manufacturer though will not be sold in the US market. According to Volvo, about 90% of the expected production of the new Volvo V60 is intended for their European consumers.

The V60 wagon goes as a companion of its sibling V60 sedan and shares much of its features but adds some styling and function fit for families inclined to get the unit.

Volvo will offer the T series which runs on gasoline and the D series that depends on diesel.

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American carmaker Ford recently confirmed that Volvo and its related assets are going to be sold to Zheijiang Geely. The terms of the sale have been finalized but there are still closing conditions to be met before completing the sale.

Volvo plus most of its intellectual properties were assessed to be at $1.8 billion. Ford will be paid $200 million in the form of a note and the rest of the deal will come in as cash. Ford is still expected to collaborate with Volvo in some areas of the operation to ensure that there will be a smooth transition. The carmaker will also still supply vehicle components, stampings, and powertrains for Volvo as agreed. Volvo will also still have access to the information technology of Ford and its engineering support.

Portions of the intellectual properties which were co-developed with its former parent company can be used by third parties like Geely under sublicenses. Most likely the new owner will make use of the safety technology, forced induction for the engine, and dual clutch system.

How Geely will affect the future lineup of Volvo is still uncertain. For now the brand has just revealed its 2010 XC60 and the facelifted C70 convertible. The new S60 sedan is set to be rolled out before the end of 2010.

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