2005 Volvo Xc90 Sunroof Leather 7-pass 3row Wood Alloys Dstc Turbo Premium Sound on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Volvos will brake for bicyclists with new detection technology

Anyone who pedals a bicycle knows that one of the biggest dangers to riders is a motorized vehicle - Volvo estimates that nearly 50 percent of all cyclists killed in European traffic have collided with a car. In the United States alone, 618 riders lost their lives in bicycle/motor vehicle crashes in 2010, and the number of injuries surpassed 52,000.
To help drop those numbers, Volvo has just announced Cyclist Detection with full auto brake - a technology that detects and automatically applies a vehicle's brakes when a cyclist swerves in front of a moving car. The basic components of the system include a radar unit integrated into the front grille, a camera fitted in front of the interior rear-view mirror and a central control unit. The radar is tasked with seeing obstacles in front of the vehicle and calculating distance, while the camera is responsible to determine what the object is. The central control unit, with rapid processing capabilities, monitors and evaluates the situation.
The technology, which will be sold bundled with its Pedestrian Detection and called Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection, will automatically apply full braking when both the radar and camera confirm a pedestrian or cyclist are in the immediate path of the vehicle. According to the automaker, the technology will be offered on the Volvo V40, S60, V60, XC60, V70, XC70 and S80 models from mid-May in 2013.

Volvo to adopt NACS port, partners with Tesla for Supercharger access

Volvo is the next automaker to announce that it’s signed an agreement with Tesla with will allow its current and future electric vehicles use of the Supercharger network. Plus, just like Ford and GM, Volvo says its new EVs from 2025 on will be equipped with the North American Charging Standard (NACS) port instead of the Combined Charging System (CCS) port. This agreement makes Volvo the first European automaker to adopt TeslaÂ’s charge port and gain access to the 12,000-plus Superchargers across the U.S. Volvo says that owners of its EVs will be able to access Superchargers as early as the first half of 2024 with an adapter. For Volvo EVs built with the NACS port, Volvo says those vehicles will still be capable of charging on CCS chargers with an adapter provided by Volvo. Volvo didnÂ’t explicitly say that the Supercharger network would be integrated into its carsÂ’ native navigation system (which is just Google Maps these days), but it did say that folks will be able to use the Volvo Cars app to do so. Via the app, youÂ’ll be able to locate chargers, get real-time availability info and pay for charging sessions. “As part of our journey to becoming fully electric by 2030, we want to make life with an electric car as easy as possible,” said Jim Rowan, Volvo CEO. “One major inhibitor to more people making the shift to electric driving – a key step in making transportation more sustainable – is access to easy and convenient charging infrastructure. Today, with this agreement, weÂ’re taking a major step to remove this threshold for Volvo drivers in the United States, Canada and Mexico.” Stay tuned, as itÂ’s only a matter of time until more and more automakers make a similar decision as Ford, GM and Volvo just made. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Volvo Cars' sales of fully electric vehicles jump in October

STOCKHOLM - Volvo Cars' sales in October grew 10% from a year earlier to 59,861 cars as fully electric car sales jumped but hybrid models fell, the Sweden-based group said on Friday. Volvo Cars said in a statement sales of fully electric cars rose 29% to account for 18% of all its cars sold in the month. Sales of hybrid cars, however, fell 8%. In total, all recharge models were up 7% to account for 36% of total sales. Shares in the group, which is majority-owned by China's Geely Holding, were up 6% in morning trade, taking the year-to-date drop to 12%. CEO Jim Rowan last week said he saw healthy demand for Volvo cars and widening profit margins for its battery electric vehicles (BEV) this quarter, against the third, as the group posted third-quarter profits that lagged estimates. Rivals such as General Motors, Ford, Tesla and Volkswagen have earlier warned that demand for EVs was not developing as expected. Volvo Cars said on Friday that sales in the biggest market Europe were up 13% in October. Sales in the U.S. were up 19% while, in China, they were flat. (Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, Editing by Terje Solsvik and Jacqueline Wong)