Volvo Cars to offer its customers preferential fast charging prices and a seamless experience

Pure electric Volvo C40 and XC40 Recharge at a charging station
Pure electric Volvo C40 and XC40 Recharge at a charging station
Pure electric Volvo C40 and XC40 Recharge at a charging station

Volvo Cars is outlining its ambition to offer its customers of Recharge cars comprehensive and easy access to public charging. It aims to do so by continuously lowering charging costs across the board for its customers, improving the charging experience, and expanding its charging networks.

Through a new and deepened collaboration with charging point platform Plugsurfing, Volvo Cars will offer its customers a heavily reduced charging price at Ionity charging points across Europe. Starting July 1, 2021, drivers of pure electric Volvo cars will pay 0,35 EUR/kWh at Ionity’s more than 340 high power charging stations across 24 European countries, during the first 12 months of ownership of a pure electric Volvo car. *

“We are excited to offer our customers one of the most competitive prices for charging at Ionity, one of Europe’s largest public fast charging networks,” said Olivier Loedel, head of electrification ecosystem at Volvo Cars. “This collaboration is a first step in our global ambition to help our customers of Recharge cars travel quickly at a much lower charging cost, wherever they are.”

“The bottom line is that customers want easy access to public charging infrastructure,” says Tatu Kulla, Plugsurfing CEO. “Price and quality of digital infrastructure are key aspects of an excellent user experience. We value the strategic partners who share this vision and seek collaborative solutions.”

To offer its customers a seamless charging experience, Volvo Cars will soon make its refreshed smartphone app, Volvo Cars app **, one consolidated digital charging platform.

It will integrate functionalities including navigation to charging stations, remote control of charging, charging notifications and payments, making every step of charging easier and a trip with an electric Volvo car more convenient than ever before.

“Volvo Cars aims to change the current fragmented public charging landscape into an all-in experience that is convenient and hassle-free,” said Olivier Loedel. “We want to achieve this by providing an integrated digital charging platform for our customers, and easy access to the largest charging networks globally.”

Pure electric Volvo C40 and XC40 Recharge at a charging station
Pure electric Volvo C40 and XC40 Recharge at a charging station

The Volvo Cars app is an updated version of the widely appreciated Volvo on Call app and is designed to offer Volvo Cars’ customers a convenient and continuously updated platform with access to various functionalities and services.

courtesy: https://www.media.volvocars.com/

Volvo Cars electrification strategy recognised by United Nations

Volvo Cars electrification strategy recognised by United Nations

Volvo Cars electrification strategy recognised by United Nations

Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, has been recognised by the United Nations for its ground-breaking electrification strategy in the latest report from the UN’s Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative.

The report, launched earlier this week at the Global Compact’s annual high-level meeting in New York, focuses on the progress that Global Compact members have made in supporting the delivery of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It highlights 10 chief executives that have taken particularly bold and disruptive action, including Volvo Cars’ president and chief executive, Håkan Samuelsson.

The Global Compact has also recognised Volvo Cars as a LEAD member, a group of the most committed, engaged and ambitious companies within the Global Compact. A founding member of the Global Compact, Volvo Cars is one of only 44 LEAD companies out of a total of 9,500 members – and one of only two car makers.

In the report, entitled ‘Business Solutions to Sustainable Development’, Håkan Samuelsson lays out the company’s reasoning behind the electrification strategy announced in July of this year.

“We’re doing this because we think this is the right future for Volvo Cars, and that it will make us stronger. It’s sound business,” says Mr. Samuelsson in the UNGC report.

With the announcement Volvo Cars became the first established car company to fully embrace electrification and place it at the core of its future business. From 2019 every Volvo car launched will have an electric motor, marking the historic end of cars that only have an internal combustion engine.

The electrification announcement was a watershed moment in the industry and Volvo Cars’ example has been followed since by other car makers who have made similar announcements.

As part of its strategy, Volvo Cars will launch five fully electric vehicles between 2019 and 2021. Three of these cars will be Volvo models and two will be Polestar performance cars. These cars will be supplemented by a range of plug in hybrid and mild hybrid options on all models, representing one of the broadest electrified car offerings of any car maker.

“Volvo Cars is leading the way and we can see now that the automotive industry is waking up to its responsibilities. We are proud to be a LEAD member of the UN Global Compact and of being acknowledged for our industry-leading commitment to an electric future,” said Stuart Templar, Director Sustainability at Volvo Cars.

The full UNGC report and the interview with Mr Samuelsson on Volvo Cars’ electrification strategy can be found here.

In May of this year, Volvo Cars hosted the bi-annual meeting of the UN Global Compact Nordic Network at its headquarters in Gothenburg. It represented one of the largest gatherings of Nordic corporate sustainability experts under the auspices of the United Nations.

courtesy: www.media.volvocars.com

New XC40 completes global Volvo line-up for fast-growing premium SUV segment

New XC40 completes global Volvo line-up for fast-growing premium SUV segment

New XC40 completes global Volvo line-up for fast-growing premium SUV segment

Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, today further expands its line-up of SUVs with the launch of its new XC40 small premium SUV in Milan, Italy.

At the same time as it introduces the XC40, Volvo Cars also reinvents the traditional model of car ownership with its new ‘Care by Volvo’ subscription service. Care by Volvo, first available on the XC40 from launch, makes having a car as transparent, easy and hassle free as having a phone.

A monthly flat-fee subscription means down payments, price negotiations and local price differences belong to the past. Depending on regional availability, Care by Volvo will also include access to a range of digital concierge services such as fuelling, cleaning, service pick-up and e-commerce delivery to the car. The XC40 with Care by Volvo is available to order online from today in selected markets.

XC40 drivers will also be the first Volvo customers who can share their car with friends and family via Volvo on Call with a new digital key technology. Car sharing comes as standard for Care by Volvo customers.

The arrival of the XC40 means that for the first time in its history, Volvo Cars has three new, globally available SUVs in what is the fastest growing segment of the automotive market, paving the way for further growth in terms of sales and profitability.

The new XC40 is the first model on Volvo Cars’ new modular vehicle architecture (CMA), which will underpin all other upcoming cars in the 40 Series including fully electrified vehicles. Co-developed within Geely, CMA provides the company with the necessary economies of scale for this segment.

“The XC40 is our first entry in the small SUV segment, broadening the appeal of the Volvo brand and moving it in a new direction,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive. “It represents a fresh, creative and distinctive new member of the Volvo line-up. So it only feels natural to reveal the XC40 here in Milan, a buzzing European hotspot for fashion, art, design and lifestyle.”

In terms of technology, the XC40 brings the award-winning safety, connectivity and infotainment technologies known from the new 90- and 60 Series cars to the small SUV segment. Like its larger siblings, the XC40 highlights the transformational effect of these new, in-house developed technologies on brand and profitability.

These technologies make the XC40 one of the best-equipped small premium SUVs on the market. Safety and driver assistance features on the XC40 include Volvo Cars’ Pilot Assist system, City Safety, Run-off Road protection and mitigation, Cross Traffic alert with brake support and the 360° Camera that helps drivers manoeuvre their car into tight parking spaces.

The XC40 also offers a radically new approach to storage inside the car. Ingenious interior design provides XC40 drivers with, among other things, more functional storage space in the doors and under the seats, a special space for phones including inductive charging, a fold-out hook for small bags and a removable waste bin in the tunnel console.

From start of production, the XC40 will be available with a D4 diesel or a T5 petrol four-cylinder Drive-E powertrain. Further powertrain options, including a hybridised as well as a pure electric version, will be added later. The XC40 will also be the first Volvo model to be available with Volvo Cars’ new 3-cylinder engine.

Production of the new XC40 starts in Volvo Cars’ plant in Ghent, Belgium in November, while order books and the Care by Volvo subscription package are open for customers now.

courtesy: https://www.media.volvocars.com/global/en-gb/media/pressreleases/213100/new-xc40-completes-global-volvo-line-up-for-fast-growing-premium-suv-segment

Polestar announces new management team to develop electrified performance brand for Volvo Cars

Polestar announces new management team to develop electrified performance brand for Volvo Cars

Polestar announces new management team to develop electrified performance brand for Volvo Cars

Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, has announced that Polestar, its performance car arm, is to become a new separately-branded electrified global high performance car company, marking the latest stage in Volvo’s ongoing transformation.

In order to drive the development of the brand, Volvo Cars also announced today that Thomas Ingenlath, Senior Vice President Design at Volvo, will assume the position of Chief Executive Officer at Polestar. Mr Ingenlath has been the inspiration behind Volvo’s award winning design renaissance in recent years.

“Thomas heading up the Polestar organisation shows our commitment to establishing a truly differentiated stand-alone brand within the Volvo Car Group,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars.

Mr Ingenlath will be joined at Polestar by Jonathan Goodman, who will become Chief Operating Officer. Mr Goodman moves from his position as Senior Vice President Corporate Communication at Volvo Cars.

“With 25 years of commercial experience in the automotive industry, Jonathan is ideally placed to provide operational experience alongside Thomas’s vision, building on the experienced management team that will drive the Polestar brand forwards” said Mr Samuelsson.

“Polestar will be a credible competitor in the emerging global market for high performance electrified cars. With Polestar, we are able to offer electrified cars to the world’s most demanding, progressive drivers in all market segments.”

Volvo Cars acquired 100 per cent of Polestar Performance in July 2015, having worked together in motorsport since 1996. In the future, Polestar will offer Polestar branded cars that will no longer carry a Volvo logo, as well as optimisation packages for Volvo’s range of cars under the Polestar Engineered brand.

Polestar will enjoy specific technological and engineering synergies with Volvo Cars and benefit from significant economies of scale as a result of its connection to Volvo. These synergies will allow it to design, develop and build world beating electrified high performance cars.

Mr Ingenlath said: “I am really excited to take up the challenge of establishing this exciting brand, developing a fabulous portfolio of bespoke products and channelling the passion we have throughout the Polestar team. The next chapter in Polestar’s history is just beginning.”

Polestar will make further announcements about its products, industrialization and commercial plans in the autumn.

courtesy: www.media.volvocars.com