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Daimler and Volvo could jointly develop internal combustion engines

BERLIN — Luxury German carmaker Daimler and Volvo, owned by China's Geely, are considering cooperating to cut the costs of developing combustion engines, a magazine reported on Sunday, citing unnamed company sources. The Automobilwoche weekly cited a Volvo manager as saying there were initial talks with Daimler, but no concrete plans, while a company spokesman said it was too early to talk about firm projects, although it was not excluding anybody. A Daimler spokesman said the company's cooperation with Geely, which owns a 10% stake in the German carmaker, was developing in a positive way, but declined to comment further. Global tariffs, accelerated by a trade war between China and the United States, as well as higher investment requirements for electric and autonomous vehicles, are forcing carmakers to seek new ways to cut and share costs. In October, Volvo said it would merge its engine development and manufacturing assets with those of Geely, creating a division to supply in-house brands and also potentially others with next-generation combustion and hybrid engines. Automobilwoche said this new division would start operating by the end of March, which could be a possible starting point for cooperation with Daimler, while a further step could be a partnership to develop electric power trains. Geely and Daimler have said they plan to build the next generation of Smart electric cars in China through a joint venture and the two companies are also cooperating on a premium ride-hailing service in China. Geely bought Volvo Cars in 2010 from Ford, allowing the Swedish brand to operate on an arms-length basis. But in recent years, it has deepened cooperation between the two brands. Volvo already supplies engines to some Geely-branded vehicles, sharing technology through Geely's Lynk brand. Both companies share and develop common vehicle platforms. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Translogic 189: 2015 LA Auto Show

The LA Auto Show has become known for its green cars and concepts, and 2015 was no exception. Translogic host Jonathon Buckley gets all the details on BMW's 330e plug-in hybrid straight from BMW President of North America Ludwig Willisch. Then we get up-to-date on Honda's latest FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell car. We round out our tour with a stop at the Elio Motors booth for a look at their updated, three-wheel P5 concept and a chat with CEO Paul Elio. But first, we jump in a time machine at the Volvo booth to discuss Concept 26, an interpretation of how car interiors might evolve in the era of self-driving cars. "The reason why we talked about it as a time machine [is] because, really, Concept 26 is giving you back something that is so precious," explained Volvo senior director of design Tisha Johnson. "We're letting you delegate driving to the car, so that you can then have that time to yourself." Click here to learn more about our host, Jonathon Buckley.

Volvo aiming for a stock IPO by the end of 2021

Volvo Cars is "making good progress" toward a potential initial public offering by the end of this year, the chief executive of the Swedish premium auto brand told Reuters on Wednesday. "We are looking at the possibility of doing an IPO before the end of the year," listing shares on the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange, company CEO Hakan Samuelsson said in an interview. Samuelsson and other Volvo executives on Wednesday laid out an extensive road map to becoming a fully electric car maker by 2030, including plans to sell 600,000 battery electric vehicles at mid-decade and build a European battery gigafactory in 2026. Volvo earlier this year scrapped a proposed merger with the company's Chinese parent, Hong Kong-listed Geely Automobile. In March, Geely said Volvo would explore capital market options, including an initial public offering and stock market listing. Many startups have gone public in the United States and China over the past two years, following electric vehicle market leader Tesla Inc in taking advantage of investor enthusiasm to raise cheap capital to compete with established brands such as Volvo. Samuelsson said Volvo and Geely will continue to share vehicle architectures, internal combustion powertrains and other components. But the companies will do so at "an arm's length distance," consistent with the way independent companies do business, he said. During Wednesday's briefing, Volvo also said it plans to equip many of its future vehicles with self-driving technology, including standard lidar sensors from Luminar Technologies Inc and computers from Nvidia Corp. "Our goal is to build the safest cars possible, using all available technology," Samuelsson said. As it launches new electric vehicles, Volvo also plans a slew of related products, including insurance and vehicle subscription payment plans offered directly by the automaker, Samuelsson said. "The whole vehicle business will be recurring revenue," Samuelsson said. In Europe, the company plans to change its retail operations so that customers order new electric vehicles directly from the manufacturer, with dealers paid commissions to deliver them, Samuelsson said. In the United States, where laws protect existing dealers, Volvo will still sell vehicles through franchised retailers. For its future electric vehicles, Volvo is working with Swedish partner Northvolt on a new generation of batteries with higher energy and designed to be packaged as a structural element of the vehicle.