Volvo plans to launch an electric car in 2019

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• Volvo is making electrification a top priority
• Three-cylinder for the middle class
• Volvo XC90 – The noble Swedish giant
• Efficiency and electrification
• SUV style sedan
• Support from Germany
• Now is the momentum in the e-car industry?

Volvo is making electrification a top priority

Vision a la Volvo: In 2019 the Swedish manufacturer wants to bring an electric car onto the market

Source: Volvo

More green from Sweden: Volvo is consistently trimming its new vehicle platforms for alternative drives. Cars with plug-in hybrids are just the beginning. A purely electric car will follow later.

Not more than four cylinders for a massive SUV? With the new XC90, launched this year, Volvo ushered in this strategy. A courageous step, but contemporary, because it marks: The Swedish manufacturer takes CO2 reduction seriously – even with the big ships.

Now it goes on. The XC90 is the first vehicle based on the new, so-called SPA (Scalable Product Architecture) platform, which, like VW’s modular transverse matrix, allows extensive flexibility in the design of a car.

And so the XC90 also makes a start with electrification. The flagship SUV of the Swedes is now also available as a plug-in hybrid.

Industry insiders, however, see a risk in the strategy, especially with regard to America, where customers in this vehicle segment usually have a greater sense of status, i.e. prefer six- and eight-cylinder engines. In Germany, however, the bill has so far been working out very well. The XC90 is so successful that the delivery time can sometimes be up to a year.

Three-cylinder for the middle class

The successor models to the S80 and V70, which will then be called the S90 and V90, will debut on the SPA platform and with the same drives. The Detroit Motor Show uses the new S90 for its appearance in January, since the USA is the most important market for the luxury class sedan. China gets a long version.

The V90 station wagon follows at the Geneva Motor Show in March. Its market launch is scheduled for the summer. In the second half of 2016, Volvo should then show the outdoor model V90 Cross Country.

Volvo XC90 – The noble Swedish giant

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The cliche demands that SUVs are depicted in front of a rustic backdrop. The Volvo XC90 may not have outstanding off-road capabilities, but it does have all-wheel drive and the like…nd…

Source: Stefan Anker

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…sufficient ground clearance. The best-selling model in the range is the D5 diesel with 225 hp. On the design…

Source: Stefan Anker

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…And there is little to complain about in terms of workmanship. In addition to the touchscreen in the center console, the multifunction steering wheel stands out. Particularly noble…

Source: Stefan Anker

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…the start-stop switch is advised. The car can be equipped with a second rear bench for a surcharge. But even if all the places are taken,…

Source: Stefan Anker

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a trunk volume of 314 liters is available. When benches are folded down, they become…

Source: Stefan Anker

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…a remarkable 1868 liters. The Volvo XC90 D5 is 4.95 meters long. In the simplest version, Kinetic, it costs 53,700 euros.

Source: Stefan Anker

2017 is considered to be the year of the new 60 series, i.e. the S60, V60 and XC60. All are on the scaled-down SPA platform with a focus on more agility and efficiency.

You can hear that in the S60 and V60 even the three-cylinder turbo gasoline engine, derived from the VEA four-cylinder engines, is to be introduced. The direct injection engine has a displacement of 1.5 liters. Volvo is not alone with this strategy. BMW also uses a three-cylinder of the same size in its 3 series.

Efficiency and electrification

Almost parallel to the large platform, Volvo engineers have developed a second architecture in cooperation with the Chinese parent company Geely. It’s called CMA, which stands for Compact Modular Architecture. The Swedes want to put their entire model range on both platforms and achieve annual sales of 800,000 vehicles in the medium term. "We are renewing our entire portfolio within the next four years," says Head of Development Peter Mertens.

SUV style sedan

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The SUV trend no longer leaves the classic notchback sedan unaffected.

Source: Volvo

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Volvo is now not only putting its station wagons, but also the mid-range S60 model in its off-road outfit.

Source: Volvo

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One variant is even suitable for easy terrain. Which is less due to the chic cross-country insignia.

Source: Volvo

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The basic model has to do without all-wheel drive and is driven by a two-liter four-cylinder diesel with 181 hp.

Source: Volvo

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If you want to have both axles powered, you have to choose the five-cylinder diesel with 215 hp and then you could at least feel comfortable on very easy terrain.

Source: Volvo

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The Swedish manufacturer has not yet given any prices. The surcharge compared to the standard version should be almost 2000 euros, which is a starting price of almost 36,000 euros…o suggests.

Source: Volvo

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Volvo first showed the new an off-road variant of the sporty station wagon in California.

Source: Volvo

SPA and CMA share the drive trains. This applies to conventional engines as well as to plug-in hybrid vehicles. Communication and infotainment as well as air conditioning are the same. Not only that ensures considerable cost savings. The production processes are also to be trimmed for more efficiency.

And it goes without saying that Volvo‘s approach to safety systems is also modular and broadly diversified. In any case, the Swedish carmaker has set itself honorable goals in this matter. "In 2020 nobody should be injured or killed in a new Volvo," says Mertens.

Support from Germany

Volvo‘s first CMA model is likely to present the XC40 in 2018. The compact SUV segment is booming and you would have an attractive competitor compared to VW Tiguan (new in 2016), Range Rover Evoque, Audi Q3 and BMW X1. Then the debuts of the Kombi V40 and its derivative V40 Cross Country are due.

Like the SPA, the CMA architecture was designed for electrification right from the start. First, Volvo will drive plug-in hybrid technology for every future model.

Now is the momentum in the e-car industry?

The Federal Environment Ministry plans to subsidize the purchase of electric cars. And even goes one step further. Also, bans on special diesel engines should no longer be a taboo. Source: The World

In 2019, the Swedes want to bring a purely electric car onto the market. Experience was gained in a three-year field test with 250 electric C30 models. In the medium term, every tenth Volvo with an electrified drive is expected to roll off the assembly line.

“The time is ripe for electrified cars to move from a niche product to a mainstream,” says CEO Håkan Samuelsson. "We are at a point where the cost-benefit calculation for electrification is almost positive." The Swedes are also happy to use German help: Volvo has brought Siemens on board as an e-mobility partner.

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