Category: Volvo Car Group

Volvo XC60 passes 500,000 units sold milestone

PRNEWS Leave a comment

The Volvo XC60, Volvo Car Group’s (Volvo Cars) best-selling model since 2009, passed the 500,000 units sold mark in April. It has taken the model only little over half a decade to reach this milestone.

The XC60’s excellent sales performance is another indicator of Volvo Cars’ strong growth in recent years and future potential. The model, which has been on sale since 2008, has steadily seen its sales volumes increase since its introduction. In 2012 the XC60 breached the 100,000 mark for the first time with 106,203 units sold, while in 2013 over 114,000 units were sold. During the first four months of 2014 Volvo Cars sold 41,920 XC60s, an increase of 24.2 per cent compared to the same period in 2013.

‘With the XC60 we have shown that we have the ability to compete on equal terms with our German rivals like BMW and Audi, and it gives us strength to do the same with future models,’ says Alain Visser, Senior Vice President Marketing, Sales and Customer Service at Volvo Cars. “This is a car that is not only a success today but will continue to be one in future.”

The destination for the 500,000th XC60 was the United States. The US is also the market that has sold the most XC60s (thus far around 73,000 units), closely followed by China with around 70,000 units sold, and then Germany, Sweden and the UK.

There are several reasons for the success of the Volvo XC60, says Alain Visser. Part of the explanation is that the car came at the right time, while it also carried forward the confidence that was built up with the success of the XC90.

“Most of all, the XC60 is a timeless model and a very good representation of what Volvo’s brand stands for,” says Alain Visser. “The ability to personalise the model with a wide range of accessories has also been an important factor in its success.”

“I see no reason why more of our models won’t sell just as well,” Alain Visser concludes. “For example, we are confident that the V40 will achieve over 100,000 units sold during this year and I see that as just one more step on the journey towards our long-term goal of selling 800,000 cars annually.”

Volvo Car Group’s first self-driving Autopilot cars test on public roads around

PRNEWS Leave a comment

Volvo Car Group’s groundbreaking project ‘Drive Me’ – featuring 100 self-driving Volvos on public roads in everyday driving conditions – is moving forward rapidly. The first test cars are already rolling around the Swedish city of Gothenburg and the sophisticated Autopilot technology is performing well.

49678_1_5

“The test cars are now able to handle lane following, speed adaption and merging traffic all by themselves. This is an important step towards our aim that the final ‘Drive Me’ cars will be able to drive the whole test route in highly autonomous mode. The technology, which will be called Autopilot, enables the driver to hand over the driving to the vehicle, which takes care of all driving functions,” says Erik Coelingh, Technical Specialist at Volvo Car Group.

What makes the ‘Drive Me’ project unique is that it involves all the key players: legislators, transport authorities, a major city, a vehicle manufacturer and real customers. The customers will drive the 100 cars in everyday driving conditions on approximately 50 kilometers of selected roads in and around Gothenburg. These roads are typical commuter arteries, including motorway conditions and frequent queues.

145734_1_5

“That Volvo Cars’ hometown Gothenburg becomes the world’s first arena for self-driving cars in everyday driving conditions demonstrates both our technological leadership and Sweden’s dedication to pioneering the integration of self-driving vehicles,” says Erik Coelingh.

Joint initiative
‘Drive Me – Self-driving cars for sustainable mobility’ is a joint initiative between Volvo Car Group, the Swedish Transport Administration, the Swedish Transport Agency, Lindholmen Science Park and the City of Gothenburg. The Swedish Government is endorsing the project.

“This public pilot will provide us with a valuable insight into the societal benefits of making autonomous vehicles a natural part of the traffic environment. Our smart vehicles are a key part of the solution, but a broad societal approach is vital to offer sustainable personal mobility in the future. This unique cross-functional co-operation is the key to a successful implementation of self-driving vehicles,” says Erik Coelingh.

Volvo Car Group Introduces the Volvo Concept XC Coupe

PRNEWS Leave a comment

Award-winning

The Concept XC Coupe is the winner of two prestigious EyesOn Design awards at Detroit Motor Show including “Best Concept Vehicle”.

After unleashing the groundbreaking Concept Coupe, we proudly reveal the Concept XC Coupe. Second in line of three concept cars, it is inspired by modern high-tech sports equipment. It is a sophisticated, capable and safe car designed for active lifestyles.

Robust impression

The two-door, four-seater Volvo Concept XC Coupe has a strong connection with its sibling Volvo Concept Coupe. However, the larger 21-inch wheels, the accentuated wheel-arches and the taller roofline contribute to a more robust impression and a fuller, capable look.

Your passport to anywhere

“We wanted to create a tool that safely enables you to go wherever you want to go – to the countryside, the ski slopes or the beach – and makes sure you always arrive in style,” says Thomas Ingenlath.

Emotional design

Volvo Concept XC Coupe shows how clever engineering meets emotional design. With this car, we reinforce our world-leading safety without compromising design, size or weight,” says Thomas Ingenlath.

Research shows that Volvo is still the safest car

PRNEWS Leave a comment

Volvo Car Group has an outstanding position in the Swedish insurance company Folksam’s latest safety report. Four Volvo models – the S60, V60, V70 and S80 – are on top of the ranking with a 12 per cent margin to the next car on the list. The Volvo S60, V60, V70 and S80 are almost 60 per cent safer than the average car in the report.

All models in Volvo’s current range gets a top safety pick recommendation by Folksam. To get this recommendation a car must be 40 per cent safer than the average car.

“We are very proud of the result. The report is built on accident data and real traffic conditions, which have always been the starting-point for our own safety work. We focus on areas where our new technologies create significant results in real-life-traffic,” says Thomas Broberg, Senior Advisor Safety at Volvo Car Group.

Moving towards zero accidents
Volvo Cars’ knowledge-driven approach to car safety is based on findings by the company’s own Traffic Accident Research team, which has been operative for more than 40 years.

All Volvo models come with the stability system DSTC (Dynamic Stability and Traction Control), and the whiplash protection system WHIPS as standard. The auto brake system City Safety is also standard equipment in all new models.

“Over the years, the risk of being injured in a Volvo has been reduced continuously and substantially. By introducing new preventive and protective systems, we keep moving towards our aim that by 2020 no one should be seriously injured or killed in a new Volvo. Our long-term vision is that cars should not crash,” says Thomas Broberg.

The Folksam study
The Folksam study evaluates the safety performance of 238 car models that have been involved in 158,000 accidents that have been reported to the Swedish police between 1994 and 2013. The information is combined with medical reports about 38,000 injured persons in traffic accidents between 2003 and 2013.

Volvo Car Group reaches landmark safety milestone: one million cars with pioneering auto brake technology sold

PRNEWS Leave a comment

Recently, the sales of Volvo cars equipped with systems for automatic braking passed the one million mark – another milestone that confirms Volvo Car Group’s world-leading position within automotive safety.

Volvo Cars’ technology for automatic braking includes several world firsts: City Safety, which is standard and works at speeds up to 50km/h; Collision Warning with full auto brake; and Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection with full auto brake.

“Several recent reports state that our ground-breaking auto braking technologies help reduce the risk of being involved in a rear-end accident by more than 20 percent. One million Volvos with auto brake on the roads take us towards our aim that nobody should be killed or suffer serious injuries in a new Volvo car by the year 2020,” says Thomas Broberg, Senior Safety Advisor at Volvo Car Group.

Auto brake efficiency documented

The efficiency of Volvo Cars’ approach has recently been highlighted:

  • The benefits of the ground-breaking City Safety technology – featuring automatic braking in low speed situations – were documented in a 2011 IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) report, which stated a significant reduction in insurance claim frequencies.
  • A similar study in 2012 by the Swedish insurance company Volvia shows that Volvos equipped with City Safety are involved in 23 per cent fewer rear-end frontal collisions than cars without auto brake.
  • Findings by the Swedish insurance company Folksam show that City Safety reduces injuries by 64 percent for people in cars hit from behind on roads with a 50km/h speed limit. In situations in which City Safety has been activated but the crash has not been completely avoided, the injury reduction is around 40 percent.
  • The final 2012 report from the EuroFOT research projects concludes that a car with adaptive cruise control and collision warning cuts the risk of colliding with the vehicle in front on a motorway by up to 42 percent.

Focus on more support for the driver

Future Volvos will feature further improvements to existing safety systems as well as new solutions. The focuses of Volvo Car Group’s present research within auto brake technology include also making more systems efficient while driving at night. Upcoming solutions will also cover more objects and situations.

“With smart interaction and new advanced solutions we will continue to contribute to further helping avoid collisions from occurring. Moreover, in our most recent car models we have reduced moderate to severe injuries by two-thirds compared with the rate for the older car models. And we are working continuously on new solutions that will bring the figure down even further,” says Thomas Broberg.

Auto brake technology overview

How Volvo Cars’ present auto brake technology works:

  • With the standard City Safety, the car applies the brakes automatically if the driver fails to react in time when the vehicle in front suddenly slows down or stops. The system is active at speeds up to 50km/h.
  • Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection with full auto brake is a ground-breaking technological solution. It can detect pedestrians who walk into the road as well as cyclists in front of the car, and warn the driver and automatically apply full braking power if the driver does not respond in time.
  • Collision Warning with full auto brake, active at all speeds, can help avoid collisions if the speed difference is 35km/h or lower. If the relative speed is higher the collision impact will be reduced. The brakes are applied automatically if the driver does not act in response to the warning when a rear-end collision with another vehicle is imminent.