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Volvo Concept Recharge previews the future of Volvo design and technology

Volvo has announced a whole slew of information about where the company is headed, from battery technology to advanced driver aids. And it was all capped by the concept car you see above, the Volvo Concept Recharge. It all shows that Volvo's future is stylish, electrified and featuring the latest in safety technology. So, in a way, pretty much exactly what you'd hope and expect. Volvo didn't say much about the specifications of the Concept Recharge, but its design will clearly influence future Volvo models, including the company's upcoming flagship electric SUV that will be revealed next year. The front ditches even faux grilles for a sculpted fascia. The shape does echo some of the look of a grille, particularly with the Volvo slash and badge in the middle. The "Thor's Hammer" headlights remain, and in the case of the concept, they have wild running lights that slide up and out of the way inside the housing to make way for the actual projector headlights at night time. The whole shape of the car is based around the electric powertrain. It has a low floor and glass roof that means the whole body can be made lower and sleeker without compromising space. The wheels are pushed to the far edges, too. At the back, the car has slim vertical taillights, continuing a Volvo design tradition. On the roof, there is a lidar sensor placed at the top of the windshield. This is a significant piece of Volvo's future, as its next generation of vehicles, starting with that aforementioned SUV, will all come with one of these sensors as standard. It will be used in combination with cameras, radar, real-time data, machine learning and mapping data to provide advanced driver aids, including what Volvo describes as "unsupervised autonomous" driving in specific circumstances. Basically, it will be SAE Level 3 autonomy, a step beyond the hands-free, but still supervised Level 2 systems such as GM's Super Cruise. It will only be available on specific roads in specific circumstances, and so it won't be able to handle the entire driving task from driveway to driveway. The company expects to offer this level of autonomy on highways first, and it will only be in specific areas to begin. It didn't give an exact timeline for the roll-out and it will be a more gradual increase over time, rather than everything being launched all at once. The company also emphasized that it will only begin launching the features when they're well and truly ready.

Volvo to convert all SUVs and sedans into EVs, develop electric luxury van

Volvo Cars is gearing up for an electric blitz to convert all its mainstay models — three SUVs and two sedans — into electric vehicles and to introduce a luxury electric van aimed at boosting sales in Asia, two people with knowledge of the plans said. The Swedish carmaker, 82%-owned by ChinaÂ’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, is expected to launch at least six new battery electric vehicles through 2026, the two people told Reuters. Volvo has announced an objective to make its entire lineup fully electric by 2030. The companyÂ’s Australia unit has said it plans to sell only EVs in that market by 2026. The previously unreported product plans amount to the largest revamp of VolvoÂ’s model line-up since Geely acquired the brand from Ford in 2010. Under Geely, Volvo initially started to share technologies such as car platforms with Geely. The makeover for Volvo, a Swedish brand that built a reputation for safety and utilitarian design, follows from a greater focus on customer trends in Asia and a push to win sales there, the people said. The two people with knowledge of VolvoÂ’s planning asked not to be named because details have not been announced by the company. Geely declined to comment. Among the new battery electric cars being planned for the next four years is a Volvo-branded MPV or van that would be based on a vehicle GeelyÂ’s Zeekr brand sells in China. Called the Zeekr 009, the hulking, battery-electric van pictured above, which starts at about 500,000 yuan ($74,179), offers three rows of seating. The vehicle competes against the likes of the Toyota Alphard, a business or family van, with airplane business class-like seats for passengers that has proven popular in Asian markets such as China and Japan as a limousine alternative. Volvo has moved development work on sedans and the coming people-mover model to its Shanghai research and development hub, they said. That center, which has tripled its design staff to about 60 people, has recently moved to a new and larger building in Shanghai, one of the sources said. The first of VolvoÂ’s new planned electric models, the EX90 sport-utility crossover, was unveiled late last year. It is expected to hit showrooms in early 2024. Other battery electric cars in the pipeline include electric versions of VolvoÂ’s mainline products – the XC90, XC60 and XC40 crossover vehicles and the S60 and S90 sedans, the sources said.

Volvo readying stretched next-gen S80 in lieu of 7 Series rival?

The debate about what direction to take perennially struggling Volvo has been raging for years. Should the Swedish marque go upscale and try to chase other European luxury brands, or should it stick to its safety-minded knitting? Should it adopt flashy new styling and a more overt performance bent, or keep it Scandinavian clean and responsible? Chinese parent brand Geely apparently has designs on making Volvo a full-fledged BMW rival - particularly in its homeland - including pushing for a range-topping 7 Series competitor. However, Volvo execs have been repeatedly pushing back on the idea. In fact, it's understood that this philosophical crisis contributed mightily to the high-profile departure of Stefan Jacoby, the company's CEO until the middle of 2012 (Jacoby has since rebounded to head international operations for General Motors).
There doesn't seem like any middle path in this debate, but that apparently isn't going to stop Volvo from trying. According to a sprawling Reuters report, Volvo will placate Geely chairman Li Shufu with a stretched and lux'd up version of the next S80. Yet Li still isn't completely satisfied, and he's said to be pushing for "a plusher and bigger model he calls the S100" to rival cars like the Audi A8. For the moment, it is not clear if the larger S80-based model will be a global offering, or just another one of China's many home-market, long-wheelbase specials.
The question of future Volvo styling is up for debate as well. According to Reuters, "Insiders say Li is a big fan of the new styling that design chief Thomas Ingenlath has brought to Volvo" (The latest example, the Concept Coupe from this week's Frankfurt Motor Show, is shown above.) Yet there are those who worry whether the company's new styling strategy is showy enough to appeal to China's wealthy. Chairman Li would still like to see a range-topping sedan for "show-off people," but Volvo's management doesn't want to go down that road. Clearly, this won't be the last we hear about the company's existential boardroom battles.