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Volvo Electric Vehicles

Buying a Volvo electric car? wattEV2buy explore Volvo EV models, sales, news & future Volvo A-EV self-driving cars. Volvo, owned by Chinese automaker Geely, targets 1 million electric vehicles or 10% of car sales by 2025 and build its first fully electric vehicle by 2019.

Tha company named its electric technology Drive-E. The strategy is based on the company’s new Scalable Product Architecture. The first element of the new electrification strategy involves the introduction of plug-in hybrid versions of it’s 90 and 60 series of larger cars. This process has already begun with the launch of the T8 Twin Engine All-Wheel Drive plug-in hybrid version of the new XC90 SUV and will continue with plug-in hybrid versions of the new S90 premium saloon and other forthcoming models. The Company will also broaden the range of plug-in hybrid cars it offers with the introduction of a new front-wheel-drive Twin Engine variant.

The Chinese-owned automaker will further deepen its product offering with the introduction of an entirely new range of smaller 40 series cars based on its newly-developed Compact Modular Architecture (CMA), which, like SPA, has been designed from the outset for electrification. This makes the Group one of the very few car makers in the world with two brand new vehicle architectures designed to support both plug-in and pure electric powertrain configurations. 


Volvo Pure Electric Models

Future Volvo Electric vehicles

Volvo Concept EV Models

Volvo Self-driving Models

Volvo Electric Car Strategy in the news

2018 Week 46 Volvo delays Lynk&Co production in EU

Reuters reported that Geely Volvo decided to delay its plans to produce Lynk&Co models at its Ghent plant in Belgium. The decision does not seem to impact on the launch of Lynk&Co in Europe set for 2019 as the company will export models to Europe from China. The decision is based on macroeconomic uncertainty due to the ongoing trade war between the USA and China and the secondary slow down in created in its major market, China. The production plan set in March 2018 will now be altered to look as follows:

  • Q4 2018 – Production of its best-selling XC60 SUV destined for the USA to start Torslanda, Sweden instead of Chengdu, China as originally planned.

  • The S60 luxury sports sedan will now also be produced in China as opposed to just being manufactured in the USA as per the March 2018 plan.

  • The V60 Station wagon will now be produced at Ghent and in China and not in Sweden as planned.

Geely Volvo still plans to export the Lynk&Co series to the USA in 2020.

In related news, Volvo India announced that it will introduce four new electrified models in the country over the next three years. Volvo’s first electric vehicle for the Indian market is the XC90 which started selling earlier in 2018. Volvo India will assemble the XC90 plug-in hybrid electric SUV in Bengaluru from Q4 2019. Auto NDTV quoted Charles Frump, Managing Director, Volvo Car India, saying  “The localization of plug-in hybrids marks the future of electrification for us. Our customers are increasingly becoming aware about the rise in pollution levels and degrading environment. As a responsible luxury car company, we believe electrification is the future. However, till the time we have a supporting infrastructure, plug-in hybrids offer the intermediate solution.” We can, therefore, expect that the majority of the four EV models introduced over the next three years to be plug-in hybrids as Volvo wait for the charging infrastructure in India to justify the release of pure electric models.

2018 Week 43 Volvo invest in EV charging start-up FreeWire

Volvo reinforced its commitment to supporting the widespread transition to the electrification of the automobile through an investment in San Francisco based FreeWire. FreeWire’s EV charging technology aims to solve the problem of fast charging stations being cost and labor intensive. FreeWire’s Mobi Charger can plug into a wall outlet and charge up to 10 cars a day, alleviating the need to uproot or upgrade the power infrastructure of any facility, so there is no need for permitting. The Mobi Charger is compatible with any electric vehicle. Choose the Mobi Charger to fit your EV drivers’ preferred charging speed. If preferences change, just plug in a different Mobi. The Mobi Charger allows corporates to deploy fast chargers for their fleets or staff easily and cost-effectively. Through taking advantage of Time of Use utility rates a company can load the charger in offpeak periods and dispatch the power at that rate any time of day. FreeWire is currently working on a 120kW DC Fast Charging Mobi unit which can charge 480miles in an hour.

2018 Week 29 Some XC60 bound for the USA falls victim to trade war

Geely’s Chairman Li Shufu was quoted last month by the South China Morning Post saying, “We will have to invest in producing a higher number of car models locally.” This week CEO of Geely subsidiary Volvo, Hakan Samuelsson, was quoted by Reuters at the release of its quarterly financial data, “We will of course reshuffle here and take XC60s for the US… from our factory in Europe, and let China produce for other markets.” Mr. Samuelsson told the news agency that the shift has already begun and that US-bound XC60 currently assembled in China would be reallocated to other markets, with some imported back to Europe. Volvo recently invested $1.1 billion in Charleston, South Carolina where the S60 is assembled for international markets.

2018 Week 20 Volvo V60 the first in the range to go without diesel

Volvo announced that the new VOLVO S60 launched in Q3 2018 will be the first of its range to be produced without a diesel engine. All new Volvo models launched from 2019 will be available as either a mild petrol hybrid, plug-in petrol hybrid or battery electric vehicle.

Last month, Volvo Cars reinforced its electrification strategy, by stating that it aims for fully electric cars to make up 50 percent of its global sales by 2025. The announcement was made at the 2018 Beijing Auto Show, positioning it as a powerful player in China, the world’s leading market for electrified cars.

The new S60, a premium mid-size sports sedan, is based on Volvo’s in-house developed Scalable Product Architecture (SPA), which also underpins the company’s award-winning new 90 Series and 60 Series cars. The S60’s estate sibling, the V60, was launched earlier this year in Stockholm.

The new S60 will initially be available with a range of four-cylinder Drive-E petrol engines as well as with two petrol plug-in hybrid versions. Mild hybrid versions will follow next year.

Production of the new S60 will start this fall at Volvo Cars’ brand new manufacturing facility outside Charleston, South Carolina. The Charleston plant will be the only manufacturing location for the new S60, meaning American-built S60s will be sold in the US market as well as overseas through exports.

It is rumored that VOLVO’s owner, Geely, hired three investment banks to pursue an IPO for the Swedish car-maker with valuations estimated between $16 billion to $30 billion.

2018 Week 9 Volvo Cars Tech Fund targeting high potential technology start-ups

Volvo aunched a new investment fund, the Volvo Cars Tech Fund targeting investments in high potential technology start-ups around the globe. The aim of the Volvo Cars Tech Fund is to invest in strategic technology trends that are transforming the industry, such as artificial intelligence, electrification, autonomous driving and digital mobility services. Volvo also announced its first investment by the fund, a seed round investment into a California-based technology firm developing advanced sensors. Start-ups funded by Volvo will have exposure to the Chinese car market through the Swedish automaker’s parent, Geely. The fund will be managed Zaki Fasihuddin, currently Vice President of Strategic Partnerships in the Volvo Cars Silicon Valley Technology Center.

2018 Week 5 Renault Trucks to go electric in 2019

Renault Trucks, a Volvo owned company, announced that it will bring a range of electric trucks to market in 2019. Renault Trucks sees the technology as indispensable for city center access. Renault Trucks have been field testing EV technology with various partners such as Nestle and Delancy Group with experimental full-electric 12 to 16-tonne trucks. Renault Trucks also has a 4.5-tonne Maxity Electric truck since 2010. A dedicated assembly line for all-electric trucks is being installed at Renault Trucks’ Blainville-sur-Orne plant in Normandy, France.

2017 Week 48 Polestar assembly plant

Volvo’s newly created brand, Polestar, started construction of its production center in China where the company’s first car, the 600hp Polestar 1 Grand Touring Coupe PHEV with an electric range of 150km will be produced. Yes, you read correctly, the Polestar 1 will be the longest range PHEV on the market. The plant is expected to be completed by mid-2018. Volvo plans to assemble 500 units if the Polestar 1 a year.

2017 Week 47 Volvo sells robo-taxis to Uber

Volvo and controversial raid-hailing company Uber entered into a $300 million partnership in August 2016 to develop robo-taxis built on Volvo’s fully modular Scalable Product Architecture (SPA). This week the two companies went further with the signing of a non-exclusive framework agreement whereby Volvo will supply 24,000 self-driving cars to Uber from 2019 to 2021. Volvo developed the XC90 SUV with the help of Uber to fulfill the requirements specified for the ride-hailing application. Uber will supply its own self-driving technology while Volvo would be free to add its own autonomous tech for its own use. Volvo is expected to release its first fully autonomous car only in 2021.

2017 Week 29 Volvo and Geely to form EV tech JV

The Swedish carmaker, Volvo, and the Chinese company, Geely is fostering deeper relationships in the worlds largest market for electric vehicles. In a press release by Volvo this week it was revealed that the companies would establish a new joint venture technology company to share existing and future technologies. We have seen this cooperative trend in China for the last couple of months, which is a departure from previous JVs between international and Chinese companies. In the past international automakers were forced by law to enter into JVs with Chinee companies to be able to sell their vehicles, which lead to mostly older generation models being dished up to the Chinese consumer as the international partners tried to protect their IP.

The JV company will be owned 50/50 by Geely and Volvo with its HQ in China and a subsidiary in Gothenburg, Sweden. The Memorandum of Understanding agreed to on the 20th of July between Volvo, Geely and newly formed LYNK & CO determined that the companies will share vehicle architecture and engine technologies via cross licensing arrangements of technologies managed by the new joint venture. The IP for the technology will remain with the company that developed it, but the technology itself will be available for use by Volvo, Geely Auto, and LYNK & CO, via license agreements. Volvo Cars and Geely already share technology, most notably the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) which is being used by Volvo Cars for its soon-to-be-announced smaller range of 40 series cars and by LYNK & CO.

Separately, it is also announced that Volvo will acquire a minority shareholding in LYNK & CO.

2017 Week 26 Volvo, Autoliv and NVIDIA to partner on self-driving cars

Volvo, Autoliv, and NVIDIA announced a partnership to develop AI systems to bring autonomous vehicles to market in 2021.

2017 Week 25 Volvo creates EV sub-brand

Volvo created a high-performance electric vehicle company by rebranding its Polestar High-Performance Division. Volvo teased the new logo and announced the new management, under the leadership of its Design VP, Thomas Ingenlath, now Polestars CEO. Polestar will continue its engineering work under its old logo but will turn the sub-brand into an electrified global high-performance car company with the new branding.

2017 Week 25 Volvo creates EV sub-brand

Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson this week in an interview with the German publication, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, confirmed that the Chinese-owned Swedish company would utilize the springboard offered by Tesla and focus on electric drivetrains and stop developing diesel engines. The company is expected to bring its first pure electric vehicle to market by 2019. The vehicle is expected to be based on one of its two Volvo 40 concepts revealed earlier this year shown here. Though it’s not decided if it would be an SUV or sedan, the electric car will be developed on the company’s new Modular Electrification Platform (MEP) and build in China. The EV will have a minimum range of 250 miles and priced around $40,000. Mr. Samuelsson acknowledges the role Tesla played in creating commercial interest for high-quality well-designed electric vehicles, an area aligned to Volvo’s strategy. Volvo just released a new improved range of diesel and petrol engines and with European regulation potentially adding as much as $340 per engine from 2020 diesel engines would just be too expensive to produce according to the CEO.

2016 Week 51 Uber remains with Volvo pilot in Pittsburgh after being booted from San Francisco

This week Uber was forced to cancel its self-driving pilot in San Francisco, its hometown. Although regulators are in possession of footage showing an Uber pilot vehicle running a red light, barely missing a pedestrian, a claim the company contest that it was driver error and not the software, the ultimate decision was based on the company not following proper permitting procedures. Although the Californian DMV offered Uber assistance and a clear road to permitting the company and State could not agree on workable rules around Uber’s demand for its technology to be classified as SAE Level 3 automation. It is not the end of Uber’s efforts though as it is piloting retrofitted Volvo XC90 SUV’s and Ford Focus vehicles in Pittsburgh.

2016 Week 33 Uber Autonomous partnership

Volvo Cars and Uber join forces to develop autonomous driving cars. The new base vehicle will be developed on Volvo Cars’ fully modular Scalable Product Architecture (SPA). SPA is currently used on Volvo Cars top-of-the-line multiple award-winning XC90 SUV, as well as the S90 premium sedan and V90 premium estate.

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