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Volvo won't go after S-Class, 7 Series market

Volvo vice president of powertrain engineering, Derek Crabb, recently said that the Swedish automaker is developing smaller and smarter powertrain options that will "turn V8s into dinosaurs" - a statement that could have been our first indication that Volvo is no longer looking to create a luxury flagship sedan to take on German land yachts like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Audi A8 and BMW 7 Series. Now Automotive News seems to be backing this up after speaking with CEO Hakan Samuelsson, who said that a big sedan wouldn't fit the brand's green image and, more importantly, might not even be a car that its customers would even consider.
Rather than trying to compete in a small, established market against rear-drive, 12-cylinder sedans, Volvo is looking at the emerging, higher-volume premium small car segment to take on its German rivals with the all-new Volvo V40 (shown above). Not wanting to abandon the big-vehicle segment altogether, a next-generation XC90 is due out within the next couple years (and was spotted in some recent spy shots), and it will ride on the new Scalable Platform Architecture (SPA), which will be shared with the new S80 according to the AN article.

Volvo is preparing to abandon its alphanumerical naming system

Volvo's alphanumerical naming system is familiar, straight-forward, but tilted towards the unimaginative side of the scale. The firm will start from scratch in the coming years, and it plans to give its future models an actual name. "If you look at cars today, they all have XC, T8, AWD, double-overhead-cam — their full specifications on the rear of many cars. Now, we're talking about a new architecture, one that's born electric and all electric. I think it's good and clear to mark that this is a new beginning. That's why we're not going to have numbers and letters, an engineering type of name. We're going to give cars a name as you give a newborn child. We have a very interesting and creative discussion going on about this now," company boss Hakan Samuelsson told Auto Express. He stopped short of providing more details about where Volvo plans to take its naming system. Historically, the company has almost always used numbers, letters or a combination of the two. The first car it released was the OV 4, which stood for oppen vagn 4 cylindrar ("open car, four cylinders" in Swedish). Volvo gained a foothold in the United States thanks to the PV544, among other models. Some of its greatest hits include the P1800, 240 (and its six-cylinder-powered variant, the 260), the Bertone-designed 780, and the 850. Notable exceptions to this decades-old rule include the Amazon (also known as the 120 series) and the Duett (called PV445 in some markets). Regardless of Volvo's next approach to naming cars, the change will be a big one. It sounds like the next-generation XC90 will inaugurate this new naming system. It's expected to make its debut before the end of 2022 with a suite of surprisingly advanced semi-automated driving technology under its sheet metal. Next, the Swedish company will turn its attention to the other side of the crossover scale. It will reportedly launch an entry-level soft-roader positioned below the XC40 and developed to lure younger buyers into showrooms. We previously thought it would wear the XC20 nameplate, though that's seemingly no longer the case. Regardless, the crossover will offer an electric drivetrain and it will "very likely" be made in China, according to Samuelsson, to keep costs in check. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2022 Volvo C40 Recharge charging

Volvo's SuperTruck 2 looks ready to extend a ramp for K.I.T.T.

In 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) entered a public-private partnership with willing Class 8 truck makers, the goal of the partnership to dramatically improve the freight efficiency of over-the-road (OTR) trucks. The term "freight efficiency" refers to freight-ton efficiency, a different metric than miles per gallon because it takes into account the weight of the truck; a lighter tractor-trailer can carry more weight before reaching the 80,000-pound legal maximum on most U.S. highways. Volvo, Daimler (which owns the Freightliner and Sterling brands), Navistar (International), and Peterbilt signed on the the partnership to develop what's being called a SuperTruck. Volvo, Daimler, and International make their own engines, Peterbilt teamed up with Cummins, and all four found their own trailer manufacturers to work with. Those four makers debuted their first iterations of what's being dubbed SuperTrucks about six years ago. This year has been all about SuperTruck 2, Volvo the last of the quartet to show what it's achieved. The goal for SuperTruck 1 was to achieve a 50% increase in freight efficiency compared to a 2009 baseline, the baseline in Volvo's case being a 2009 VNL 670 tractor. The goal for SuperTruck 2 was another 50% improvement. Volvo said its internal goal was a 120% betterment compared to 2009, and that it exceeded the mark with a 134% increase. The company said the huge gains came primarily from aerodynamics: A wedge-shaped front with a smaller frontal area thanks to a smaller cooling package; the heavily curved, wraparound windshield; the tractor's adjustable ride height; using camera for side mirrors; and adding a boat tail to the back of the trailer, plus enough fairings and skirts front-to-back to make the tractor and trailer look like a single unit when driving in a straight line. Volvo did make changes to its rolling lab that aren't likely to infiltrate the U.S. market anytime soon. It's common for U.S. OTR trucks to use a 6x4 configuration, with two axles behind the cab, both driven. Volvo's SuperTruck 2 went with a 4x2 setup common in Europe, using a single axle behind the cab, and fitted a composite driveshaft. Combined with making the chassis out of aluminum instead of steel, and trailer partner Wabash providing a lightweight aluminum van, the tractor-trailer combo weighed just 27,000 pounds.