Volvo XC60 facelift revealed in China

 

It seems that the Chinese automobile market is entitled to have the majority of updates before all other countries, and once again it happened with the facelift of the Volvo XC60.

 

The front lights, grille and bumpers are different and follow the style presented with the new V40. On the inside we get to see a new dashboard. The facelift will hit dealerships in May.

Towards the end of 2013 the model abandons the 5-cylinder engines and will adopt the more economical and less polluting, 4-cylinder motors.

Source: yiche

 

Short News: Volvo Trucks buys the last shares from Renault Trucks

The French automaker, Renault SA, sold the last shares (6,5%) they had in Volvo AB for 1.458 million Euros ($1.92 billion Dollars) ending a connection that lasted for 11 years as the largest owner of the Swedish company.

This sale has a clear objective, Renault needs money to reduce its debt and invest in France, Russia and China. Still in the near future both companies will continue to use the same components. Renault uses the same drivelines used by the Swedish company, and the FL and FE types are basically Renault Trucks.

Source: iepieleaks.nl

Volvo S80 facelift for 2013

 

I have to assume that i can not read anything in Mandarin and google translator didn't really help, all i know is that the S80 (S80L) will have a slight face-lift for 2013 (atleast in China), causing it to reach 9 years of life instead of a life cycle of 8 years, normal in Volvo.

But we can understand why it reached the 9 years. Volvo just finished the development of the new VEA (Volvo Environmental Architecture) platform and the new engine family, so they wouldn't do such a major change to a model one year, using older parts and technologies, then debut a new set of components in the following year and have it stay in the market for a long time already outdated.

The alterations made ​​are small, the bumpers are a little different, so is the exhaust pipe and the rearview mirrors, there is also new wheels available, new chrome trims, an updated grille with new headlamps that now include LEDs with some other minor changes to the body. Volvo will also drop the 2.0liter engine from Ford.

 

Still that front bumper reminds me of something out of Volkswagen...

Source: AutoSina

Volvo will invest more in Sweden. 11 Billion!

Volvo Car Group will invest eleven billion dollars in the SPA (Scalable Product Architecture) and VEA (Volvo Engine Architecture) and half of that will be spent in Sweden in infrastructure for the new vehicle architecture and engine family.

With this Volvo pretends to achieve independence in platforms and engines and thereby not depend on other brands and products. Also pretends to share more components over all the models in the Volvo lineup to benefit from economies of scale.

SPA (Scalable Product Architecture) is a flexible, scalable product architecture that covers most of Volvo's future car models. It is a product range consisting of shared modules and scalable systems and components, all manufactured in a flexible production system. In parallel with SPA, Volvo Car Group is also developing an all-new four-cylinder fuel-efficient engine family known as VEA (Volvo Engine Architecture).

You can read the rest of the PR here

What does it take to design and build a truck? Volvo Trucks design team tells us how they did it [Video]

 

All of us who like vehicles of all types, also find interesting how they are created and how they go from a simple drawing to the final form. And the guys all Volvo Trucks showed us how they do it.

Creating a car is not easy and a truck is even worse. It is a huge design challenge to create lines that are both attractive and functional. According to Rikard Orell, Design Director at Volvo Trucks, “Coming up with solutions where design and function go hand-in-hand was one of our most important tasks” and "The design challenge we were given was to create something that was exciting and fresh, while at the same time retaining and carrying over all those elements that were so highly appreciated in the previous model"

It was a process that took over 5 years where everything was checked, from the sound and feel of every button, plastics and textiles to how each part is connected with each other on the inside and outside, and many meetings and decisions later we get the final product.

Source: CommercialMotor

The story behind the first Volvo C30 Polestar limited edition [Video]

Back in September Volvo finally announced a special limited edition of the C30 Polestar, but it isn't the actual C30 Polestar Concept we got to see and that you can see in the picture above, it is a "normal" C30 with a litle bump in power and torque. That one you can see below.

The C30 Polestar Performance Concept Prototype had 400hp, but this limited edition "only" has 250hp and 370Nm (273lb/ft) connected to a six-speed manual or automatic transmission. It also has the R-Design body kit and the same blue with 17inch Styx black wheels.

This edition is limited to 250 units and the videio below is about the number one delivered in the USA. It also tells a little bit about Polestar and Volvo history.

Volvo develops new EV charger, will charge a car battery in 90 minutes

One of the major problems of electric vehicles, in addition to the storage capacity of batteries, is the time it takes to fully charge an electric car. Volvo now seems to have a solution that promises to fully recharge an electric Volvo C30 in just 90 minutes and in 30 the car will have a range of 80km or almost 50miles.

The Swedish manufacturer claims that their system is the first phase on-board charger hat runs six times faster then current devices in comparison to current charging times which may vary from 8 to 10 hours.

Lennart Stegland, Volvo's Vice President of Electric Propulsion Systems, said "We know that short recharging times and extensive operating range are a necessity for potential electric car consumers. The fast-charging unit helps cure what is known as ‘range anxiety' since the car can be more easily recharged during the day."

Source: Volvo

Volvo's entry level SUV delayed

According to Auto Motor und Sport Volvo has put his small SUV, which could be called XC30 or XC40, on hold because their current Ford-based platform is not flexible enough to be used on a new crossover and their new Scalable Platform Architecture (SPA) is too large for the model.



So now Volvo has to solve a big problem and fast, because that segment is growing fast with vehicles like the BMW X1 and Audi Q3 arriving soon. Volvo has been in contact with several car makers to reach an agreement in platform sharing.

Source: WorldCarFans