1999 Volvo V70 Xc - Awd, Cold A/c, Auto, Moonroof, Well Maintained - No Reserve on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Daimler and Geely collaborate to develop 'a highly efficient modular engine'

BERLIN — German car maker Daimler said on Tuesday it will cooperate with China's Geely to build next-generation combustion engines for use in hybrid vehicles. Efforts to share development costs come as the growth potential for combustion engines faces the twin threat of the COVID-19 crisis and stricter fuel-efficiency and emission rules. "The companies plan to develop a highly efficient modular engine," a spokesman for Daimler said, adding that it would be used in hybrid drivetrains and manufactured in Europe and China. Geely declined to comment. The modular engine will be used in cars under different marques at Geely and Daimler, a person familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity as the companies are still in the early stages of developing the engine. News of the alliance was a surprise to Daimler's works council at its factory in Untertuerkheim, which specializes in electric and gasoline powertrain assembly. "We are speechless. There was not even a discussion about potential alternative manufacturing locations," said Michael Haeberle, the works council chief for Untertuerkheim. "We have the ability to build four-cylinder engines in Untertuerkheim, but there were no talks about it." Daimler said German factories will be retooled gradually to add electric drivetrains production. Most of the next-generation combustion engines will be made in China, business daily Handelsblatt reported. The alliance with Geely, which owns a 9.69% stake in Stuttgart-based Daimler, means that parts of Daimler's existing partnership with Renault could be pared back. A Renault source told Reuters that the Daimler-Geely project does not mean an end of cooperation between Daimler and Renault. Citing Daimler sources, Handelsblatt said the Daimler-Geely pact would save the German carmaker a "triple-digit million sum" — implying an amount above 100 million euros ($119 million) and less than 1 billion euros. Green Mercedes-Benz Volvo Hybrid Daimler Geely

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.

This is Volvo's awesome S60 V8 Supercar entry [w/video]

Australian auto news has been dire for the last several months with all three automakers that build there announcing they would stop production within the next three years. But Volvo is providing a shot of excitement with the unveiling of its new S60 racecar for the upcoming season of the Australian V8 Supercar series.
The Volvo S60 racecar will use a 5.0-liter, naturally aspirated V8 based on Volvo's B8444S production engine that will be tuned to produce roughly 650 horsepower on E85 ethanol. Power will get to the ground via a six-speed sequential transmission, and it will be able to reach 62 miles per hour in 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 185. All cars in the series use common parts for the chassis, transaxle, and rear suspension.
Volvo's Polestar performance arm will campaign two of the S60 racers this season. While Volvo might seem like an odd inclusion into Australian racing, it actually has quite a successful history. It won the 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship in a 240 and won the Bathhurst 1000 race in 1998 in an S40. Polestar is not new to racing either, having been racing Volvos around the world since 1996.