1996 Volvo 850 R on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Now at Costco: Bales of toilet paper and a Volvo or Pacifica to haul them

Costco, the beacon of bulk buying, where you can buy everything from gasoline to your own casket at deep discount, is offering some Costco-only incentives through its Auto Program in partnership with specific car brands: for now, Volvo and Chrysler, with other brands planned for later. First, Volvo: Now through Oct. 2, you can get both special incentives AND employee pricing (aka "A-Plan" pricing) AND whatever rebates and incentives Volvo might already have going on. The Costco incentives are: $3,000 on 2017 and 2018 S90 sedans. $750 on 2017 and 2018 S60 sedans. $750 on 2017 and 2018 V60 and V90 Cross Country wagons. $750 on 2017 and 2018 XC90 SUVs. $750 on the outgoing 2017 XC60 crossovers. Automaker incentives usually vary by region, but in the Detroit area, at least, Volvo currently has a $2,500 incentive on the 2018 XC90 and $3,500 on the 2017 model. Those end Aug. 31 but could be renewed in September, and others could be added then as well. Volvo is also offering special interest rates on financing some of the other models. And when all is said and done, if you fill out a Costco customer survey you'll get a $200 cash card. The Chrysler Pacifica deal, also through Oct. 2, is even simpler: Go to the Costco site, print out a certificate worth $1,000, and take it to a Chrysler dealership — any dealership, not just those that usually work with Costco, which is a first. The incentive covers both 2017 and 2018 models. And like the Volvo promotion, these Costco incentives can be combined with whatever Chrysler's doing — and it currently has a myriad of incentives on 2017 Pacificas, in various combinations that differ depending on whether you're leasing or buying. If you register at the Costco Auto Program website, you'll be put in touch with a dealer who can review the bottom line after all the discounts are factored in. Participating dealerships have offered special pricing to Costco members for years, up to the price automaker employees get. Costco's program doesn't typically work the way these Volvo and Chrysler programs do, though a similar joint promotion with Volvo back in 2013 sold 7,500 cars. If you haven't used the Costco Auto Program, but you don't like haggling at a dealership, you might give it a try. The beauty of it is that a dealer is obligated to offer you a set price and is also obligated to treat you by certain rules, such as not trying to upsell you. Last year, 490,000 vehicles were sold to Costco members through the program.

Volvo to create 3,300 jobs at $1.25 billion EV plant in Slovakia

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Swedish luxury vehicle maker Volvo Cars plans to build a new European plant in eastern Slovakia, the countryÂ’s economy minister said Friday. VolvoÂ’s third European plant will be located in Kosice, SlovakiaÂ’s second-largest city, Economy Minister Richard Sulik said. Volvo will receive about 20% of the 1.2 billion euros ($1.25 billion) needed for the project as support from the Slovak government. The plant is expected to produce some 250,000 electric cars a year and to create some 3.300 jobs. Construction is scheduled to begin next year and production to start in 2026.  GermanyÂ’s Volkswagen, FranceÂ’s PSA Peugeot Citroen, South KoreaÂ’s Kia Motors Corp. and U.K.-based Jaguar Land Rover already have major plants in Slovakia, a Central European country of 5.5 million people. Volvo's plant will be the fifth there, and will bolster the country's standing as the biggest car producer per capita in the world, with the central European country of 5.4 million producing more than 1 million cars in 2021. For Volvo Cars, it will be its third plant in Europe and will build EVs only, in line with the company's ambition to produce EVs exclusively by the end of this decade. The European Union aims to phase out new fossil fuel car sales by 2035. "Expansion in Europe, our largest sales region, is crucial to our shift to electrification and continued growth," Chief Executive Jim Rowan said in a statement. The area targeted for the plant has long had high unemployment compared with the western part of the country. "I am very pleased that Slovakia succeeded in the competition for this mega investment that will bring development and many jobs to the east of Slovakia," Economy Minister Richard Sulik said in a statement. Volvo Cars' other European plants are in Belgium and Sweden. Its output last year rose by 5.6% to almost 700,000 automobiles, of which 27% were either fully electric or plug-in hybrids. The company, which is majority-owned by China's Geely Holding, listed on Nasdaq Stockholm last October. Includes material from Reuters.

Volvo denies boss Jacoby is taking a run at Opel CEO post

It seems that every news report that involves the name "Opel" is eventually followed by a report that says, "Uh, never mind." Executives fill positions, then they're gone, or they're supposed to fill positions but duck out before doing so, five-year product offensives turn into grabbing for life preservers, and turnaround plans are followed by... new turnaround plans. With the recent departure of Opel CEO Karl-Friedrich Stracke, Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri reported that Volvo CEO Stefan Jacoby topped the list of candidates to sit in Opel's very hot seat.
Volvo spokesman Stefan Elfstrom has piped up to say "Mr. Jacoby is fully occupied with running Volvo and has no plan for leaving his present job." Stranger things have happened, though, and who knows what the truth is, but we have to admit we'd be surprised if Jacoby jumped off the Volvo express - recently given an $11-billion boost by parent company Geely - to take his chances in the Opel maelstrom.
So Opel's search for a CEO continues. At least we have the Adam to look forward to.