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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 electric XC90 SUV to include lidar as standard equipment next year

DETROIT — Volvo Cars plans to make lidar sensors standard equipment in a new generation of its XC90 SUV next year as part of a strategy to deploy more advanced safety and automated driving technology that relies on precise images of the world around the vehicle. The decision by Volvo Cars to fold lidar sensors into the base price of its vehicle is a bet that customers will pay for the additional capability. It has been called a "watershed moment" by some in the industry. The Swedish brand, owned by China's Geely group, is taking a sharply different road from rival Tesla Inc, which has shunned lidar and radar and is focusing on just cameras and software for its automated driving systems. Self-driving car sensor startup Luminar Technologies Inc will supply Volvo Cars with its Iris lidar and Sentinel software in combination with software from Volvo in the electric XC90 SUV that will be built in South Carolina and go on sale in 2022, the companies said. The new technologies are designed to address traffic situations that often result in severe injuries and fatalities. Over time, the technology will become more capable and will increasingly intervene to prevent collisions, the companies said. "By having this hardware as standard, we can continuously improve safety features over the air and introduce advanced autonomous drive systems," Volvo Cars Chief Executive Hakan Samuelsson said in a statement. Lidar sensors, which use laser light pulses to render precise images of the environment around the car, are seen as essential by many automakers to enable obstacle detection and avoidance in advanced driving assistance systems and eventually in fully automated vehicles. Complete sensor set on on electric successor to XC90 Until now, lidar has been too costly for automakers to implement as anything other than an option that costs extra. Luminar CEO Austin Russell said the pricing for its lidar is on the order of $1,000 per unit. Volvo Cars' chief technology officer, Henrik Green, said cost is not the focus for the Swedish auto brand. While the price of the technology will come down over time as volumes grow, the rollout will accelerate use of automated services that the company can charge for. Green said subsequent vehicles will add the lidar package as standard, and that this continues Volvo Cars' history of being first to standardize many safety features, including three-point seat belts and side-impact airbags.

Volvo to build range-topping S90 sedan in China

Volvo is furthering its deep ties in China by announcing a major expansion to its factory in Daqing that will equip the site to build its future S90 sedan. The automaker is promising to make the plant, "one of the most advanced car making facilities in China," according to its press release. Unfortunately, the company isn't specifying the amount being invested or how long the work will take.
Because the northeastern Chinese city of Daqing owns about 37 percent of the automaker, the location for the significant expansion isn't entirely surprising, especially since Geely owns a majority stake in the Swedish brand. The existing factory there employs about 700 people to build the original XC90 for the local market, but the upgrades will allow the plant to handle Volvo's Scalable Product Architecture modular platform.
To be fair, Volvo doesn't specifically call out the S80-replacing S90 by name in its announcement. However, it promises the first vehicle built in Daqing after the expansion will be a new premium sedan, and the upgrades will allow the plant to make "most innovative vehicles in its product range," and the range-topping sedan is widely expected to adopt the S90 moniker.