Fair Condition Overall, Well Maintained, Mechanically Sound, Very Reliable, Has on 2040-cars

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2020 Volvo XC90 Inscription Interior Driveway Test | A lesson in minimalist luxury

We tend to love Volvo interiors. They’re beautiful, simple, inviting and a relaxing place to spend time in. Designers needed to get it right, too, because Volvo has applied the same styling and design language to every vehicle in its lineup. WeÂ’re focusing on the flagship today: the 2020 Volvo XC90 T8 Inscription. Since our tester is the Inscription trim, that means itÂ’s the most luxurious version of the bunch (Momentum and R-Line are the two others). Some highlights include perforated Nappa leather seats, a “tailored dashboard,” Gray Ash Wood trim inlays and the Orrefors crystal shift knob.  Our car had the Charcoal interior scheme to play along nicely with the trim. The contrast between the light wood trim and gray stitching with the black leather is pleasing to the eye. Volvo uses a gratuitous but not overwhelming amount of piano black trim to bring some shine to the interior. ItÂ’s nice to see and touch on the buttons, but gets dirty quickly around the flat gear lever area where dust tends to collect. Much of the dash is left blank in a nod to minimalism. WeÂ’re left with a large nine-inch touchscreen oriented vertically in the center, just like every other Volvo on sale today. This is flanked by the center air vents. ThereÂ’s little to no styling going on with the vents, which seems like a missed opportunity. Regardless, we dig the layered and nicely-stitched dash that comes with the Inscription model. Also nestled into the dash is this crossoverÂ’s 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. ItÂ’s basic in its visuals, but plenty effective at conveying important car information. We like the more vibrant and customizable clusters from Mercedes-Benz and Audi a lot, but this one gets the job done and it isnÂ’t distracting in the least bit. Volvo has your back when it comes to comfort. Our tester has the Luxury Package, so itÂ’s equipped with massaging front seats, heated rear seats and a heated steering wheel. Additionally, Volvo finishes the headliner in Nubuck, and the grab handles and visors get leather. Unlike everybody else, Volvo allows you to choose between three levels of heat for the steering wheel. ItÂ’s noticeable to our hands, and is great when you want to add a little heat into your fingers without being scalded. As for the massage, itÂ’s backrest only. We wish it was back and bottom, but at least the programs available for your back are soothing.

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.

Volvo Cars, Northvolt to build battery plant with 3,000 jobs

Northvolt's new facility in Skelleftea, Sweden.   STOCKHOLM — Automaker Volvo Cars and battery manufacturer Northvolt will build their joint battery plant in Gothenburg, western Sweden, the two companies said on Friday. The new 50-gigawatt-hour (GWh) plant will create up to 3,000 jobs and make battery cells specifically developed for use in pure electric Volvo and Polestar cars, the Sweden-based companies said. Operations will begin in 2025. The two companies said last year they would form a joint venture to develop batteries, including setting up a gigafactory for production and a research and development centre, a total investment of about 30 billion crowns ($3.3 billion). Northvolt and Volvo said former Tesla executive Adrian Clarke had been appointed to lead the production company. "He comes with a long experience from Tesla as well as around how to build these type of factories," Northvolt CEO Peter Carlsson, who also previously worked for Tesla, told Reuters. Volvo Cars head of engineering and operations, Javier Varela, said access to fossil-free energy, skills and infrastructure had been factors for choosing Gothenburg, Volvo's hometown. Competition for talent is fierce, with most battery engineers based in Asia. Tesla and Asian companies such as LG and Samsung SDI are also setting up factories in Europe. Northvolt's gigafactory in the Swedish town of Skelleftea assembled its first battery cell at the end of December, making it the first European company to design and manufacture a battery in Europe. Carlsson said it was running as planned, although he said global supply-chain problems, semiconductor shortages and the COVID-19 had made it more of a challenge. "It has not been the easiest of times," he said. Volvo Cars, majority owned by China's Geely Holding, aims to sell 50% pure electric cars by the middle of this decade and fully electric cars only by 2030. Northvolt, whose biggest shareholder is Volkswagen, has so far receive more than $30 billion worth of contracts from customers such as BMW, Fluence, Scania, Volkswagen, Volvo Cars and Polestar.