Volvo
Volvo plans to produce 7-Series/S-Class fighter
Volvo’s newly-crowned owner Geely has announced plans to build a luxury sedan that will go against other vehicles from the segment including the BMW 7-Series, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and the Audi A8. The chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Li Shufu said in an interview with news agency Reuters, “We want to make more high-level cars that compete with the S-Class of Mercedes Benz and the 7-Series of BMW. We need products to compete in that segment.”
Volvo’s current largest sedan is the S80 which is a D Segment vehicle, competing with the BMW 5-Series and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. Unfortunately that is all we have regarding the plan for now as Li did not reveal information about possible production or release dates. He did mention that Volvo has to increase it’s overall sales to about 380,000 units per annum, up from 335,000 units sold last year. The increase will help Volvo become profitable. Li also added that the company has to sell more than 380,000 units for it to become competitive.
Geely has just officially taken over the Swedish brand from previous owner Ford for an amount of US$1.8 billion. Geely previously paid US$200 million and recently a further US$1.3 billion to Ford with the remaining to be finalized by end of the year. The arrangement also includes a continuous supply of technology and parts such as powertrains and other components for a specified period of time.
At the same time Stefan Jacoby has been appointed as the President and Chief Executive of Volvo Cars. Jacoby previously served as Volkswagen’s Chief Executive for the US. It remains to be seen whether Geely can turn Volvo into a success story, only time will tell!
Geely to build an R&D centre for Volvo in Shanghai
Geely, the current owner of Volvo has announced that it will setup a research and development facility in Shanghai, China. The company said that the centre will be located at the Shanghai International Automobile City (SIAC) which is situated about 25 kilometers from downtown Shanghai.
This is the same place where the Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co. and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp call home. “We have reached a deal and the R&D center will be built in our automobile city,” said Xu Ming, vice general manager of SIAC at an automobile electronics forum held last month.
He also added the centre will be called the Geely-Volvo Research and Development Center. Unfortunately we don’t have more information to share with you including a possible launch date. There are also rumors circulating that Geely is scouting possible sites in the country for a Volvo assemble plant.
Volvo unveils the all new V60 “sports wagon”
Volvo has introduced the new V60, which essentially is the wagon version of the S60 with a total boot space of 430 liters. The V60 which carries the Swedish brand’s latest design language is available with five gasoline engines and up to three diesel units. The gasoline front will be made up by a 304hp 3.0 liter T6 with 440Nm of torque, a 240hp 2.0 liter T5, a 180hp 1.6 liter T4 as well as a 150hp 1.6 liter T3. Also in the list is a turbocharged 2.0T GTDi model that makes 203hp and 300Nm of pulling power.
The more fuel efficient diesel line-up has the 205hp D5 with 420Nm of torque, 163hp D3 with 400Nm of torque and lastly a 115hp 1.6 D DRIVe with 270Nm of torque. The V60 which Volvo is calling a “sports wagon” is available with two chassis settings. One is called the dynamic chassis while the other is the touring chassis which is the softer one of the two.
There is also something called FOUR-C or Continuously Controlled Chassis Concept which is optional. Available in both front wheel drive and all wheel drive configurations, the V60 also features Volvo’s Advanced Stability Control. Volvo claims that this system is able to identify a potential skid earlier compared to conventional stability systems.
The V60 also has Corner Traction Control, a torque vectoring system which is pretty much similar to Volkswagen’s XDS system available on the Golf GTI Mk6. Now what is a Volvo without any safety features to shout about. Among others, the wagon has Pedestrian Detection with full auto brake and City Safety which automatically applies the brakes if the driver fails to react in time when the vehicle in front slows down or stops. The Volvo V60 is expected to go on sale later this year in Europe.
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Volvo’s safety demonstration blunder – a must watch!
Volvo has been advocating safety for a very long time now and today its cars are equipped with things such as City Safety, lane departure warning, blind spot assist and many more. The Swedish auto company also has a feature called the Collision Warning with Auto Brake in the list.
This system will automatically apply the brakes if an imminent collision is detected (after warning the driver). This feature will be available with the new S60 sedan and Volvo was showcasing it to the media during an event but that went entirely wrong.
The system failed to work during the demonstration and the S60 hit the back of a stationary truck causing substantial damage to the car. Luckily no one got hurt as the S60 had no occupants. Volvo later revealed that the pre-production test car had a faulty battery and said that it was human error that was responsible for the accident.
Anyway since it was a press event its no surprise that someone took a video of it. Its pretty hilarious especially when the car hit the back of the truck. Its looked more like a crash test demonstration. You can check the video out after the jump. Read the rest of this entry.
New five-cylinder diesel and uprated T6 from Volvo
A new 2.0-litre five-cylinder diesel powerplant joins Volvo’s engine range for model year 2011. Available in various states of tune, the 2.0D can be had with a six-speed auto or manual. It’s a new option for the XC60 and XC70 and replaces the four-cylinder 134 bhp unit in the C30, S40, V50, C70, V70 and S80.
It’s not entirely brand new though. In essence, the 2.0D is the 2.4-litre D5, but with a shorter stroke for better fuel consumption. The fuel injectors are now piezo-electric for more efficient combustion.
The company also has in place a new naming system – engines will now be badged depending on power output. For instance, the 148 bhp/350 Nm 2.0D in the C30, S40, V50 and C70 is labeled D3 while a 175 bhp/400 Nm version of the same engine is called D4. In larger models like the S80, V70, XC70 and XC60, the 2.0D pushes out 161 bhp/400 Nm and is badged D3. The same will apply to the petrols, but with T instead of D.
Now that we mentioned petrols, the firm’s T6 turbocharged six pot now offers 19 bhp and 40 Nm extra to produce 304 bhp/440 Nm due to “reduction in internal friction”. Emissions have gone the opposite direction – down.
Sweet-looking Volvo S60 touring car revealed
This is a new touring race car by Volvo that is based on the all-new S60. This track-friendly S60 will be raced this year in the Belgian Touring Car Series (BTCS). Unlike the production S60, this race car with a tubular frame design has a mid-mounted 3.5 liter V6 that cranks out 410hp and 412Nm of torque that peaks at 5,500 revs. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a 6-speed sequential transmission.
Stopping power is provided by 6-pot calipers on all four corners with 380mm discs up front and 355mm at the back. The front suspension is independent with 3-way adjustable dampers. Down south there are 3-way onboard adjustable shocks absorbers. The Belgian Touring Car Series kicks off this weekend in Zolder.
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It’s confirmed: Ford sells Volvo Cars to Geely!
It’s confirmed! Negotiations have been going on for some time already, but now Ford has entered into a “definitive agreement” to sell Volvo Car Corporation to China’s Geely. The Swedish carmaker and its related assets (mainly intellectual property) will cost Geely US$1.8 billion and the sale is expected to close in the third quarter of 2010, subject to regulatory approvals.
The Detroit based automaker said that it will continue to cooperate with Volvo to ensure a smooth transition, but will not retain any ownership. To be exact, Ford will continue to supply Volvo Cars with powertrains, stampings and other vehicle components, besides providing engineering support, information technology and access to tooling for common components, among other things.
There are agreements in place to govern the use of intellectual property, which will “allow both Volvo and Ford to deliver their business plans and provide appropriate safeguards against misuse”. Volvo will be able to grant sublicenses to certain portions of Ford’s intellectual property used by Volvo Cars to third parties, including owner Geely.
“The Volvo management team fully endorses Ford’s sale of Volvo Cars to Geely. We believe this is the right outcome for the business, and will provide Volvo Cars with the necessary resources, including the capital investment, to strengthen the business and to continue to move it forward in the future. Geely has been very supportive of Volvo Cars’ business plans and management team. We look forward to building a strong relationship between Volvo Cars and Geely, and to maintaining a strong relationship with Ford in those areas where we will continue to work together to ensure a smooth transition,” said Stephen Odell, CEO of Volvo Cars.
Geely secures financing worth US$ 2.1 billion for Volvo deal
Geely, the Chinese company which is set to take over struggling Volvo from Ford has secured financing for the purchase. The financing is said to be worth US$ 2.1 billion but the source of the sum was not disclosed. With this Geely is likely to seal the acquisition by end of this month.
Reports are also suggesting the Geely will maintain Volvo’s production hub in Sweden however some are saying the the Chinese company will shift production to China. If this happens about 16,000 workers in Sweden may lose their jobs. As for setting up production in China, a 300,000-unit production is expected annually. This number is almost double Volvo’s current output worldwide.
