2001 Volvo V70 2.4t Wagon 4-door 2.4l on 2040-cars

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Volvo Car partners with Northvolt to develop and produce batteries

STOCKHOLM — Volvo Car Group, owned by China's Geely Holding, announced plans on Monday for a joint venture with Swedish battery maker Northvolt to develop sustainable batteries for its electric cars and set up a factory for production. The companies aim to set up a research and development center in Sweden to begin operations in 2022 and start a factory in Europe with a potential capacity to produce up to 50 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year in 2026. "Working closely with Northvolt will also allow us to strengthen our in-house development capabilities," said Hakan Samuelsson, chief executive at Volvo Car Group. Northvolt will become Volvo Cars' exclusive battery cell production partner in Europe. The factory will be powered by clean energy and is expected to employ around 3,000 people. The location of the plant has yet to be decided. Northvolt raised $2.75 billion in equity this month to expand capacity at the factory it is building in northern Sweden, and Volvo plans to source battery cells from that battery plant starting in 2024. German carmaker Volkswagen is Northvolt's biggest shareholder, and the battery maker has also got contracts worth billions from the likes of BMW and Scania. Battery makers are scrambling to keep up with demand as carmakers switch to electric in order to reduce planet-warming carbon emissions. Volvo Cars aims to sell 50% pure electric cars by the middle of this decade, and by 2030 it aims to sell only fully electric cars. Electric successor to Volvo's XC60 model will be the first car to feature battery cells developed through the joint venture.

Volvo EX90 EV is heavy on sustainability with new Nordico cabin material

After hints from former Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelson and a trademark application for the term "Embla," we'd suspected the electric successor to the XC90 would be called the Embla. New Volvo CEO Jim Rowan explained that after taking brand familiarity into account, the people who decide the names of things decided "EX90 marks a new iteration on our current nomenclature and is reflective of our transition toward a full-electric lineup by 2030." Another symbol of the transition to all EV all the time is Volvo interior designers believing they have created "one of the most pleasant and elegant car interiors on the market" by "reinterpreting luxury and well-being [through the] essential qualities of Scandinavian design: simplicity, well-being and natural sources." Senior Design Manager Cecilia Stark tells us the nut and bolt of this is Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood, and wool shorn off sustainably raised sheep. Backlit wood trim lines the EX90's cabin, reminiscent of a Scandinavian living room. The wool is a secondary fabric option, buyers first invited to enjoy Volvo's new Nordico synthetic fabric made from ingredients like recycled PET bottles and responsibly sourced pine resin from managed forests in Sweden and Finland. Counting Nordico and other synthetic textiles in places like the carpeting, Volvo says there are "almost 50 kilograms of recycled plastics and bio-based materials" in an EX90 cabin, surpassing the amount for every other vehicle in the automaker's range.  There will be a standard luxury aspect to configuring the flagship crossover, though. Mostly discussed as a feature among super luxury makers who offer so many options that buyers can be overwhelmed into analysis paralysis, Volvo designers have created themed "rooms" encompassing EX90 exterior colors, upholstery, and decor. We don't know how many rooms will be offered, and we're not used to seeing exterior hues included in themed packages, so this should be interesting.     Volvo will show the EX90 on November 9. The crossover is slated to go into production at the automaker's South Carolina plant before the year is out. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Volvo and Polestar Range Assistant app promises more range for EVs

Volvo and Polestar just released a new app for their EVs that promises to help optimize driving range. It’s called “Range Assistant,” and itÂ’s coming as an over-the-air update to the Volvo XC40 Recharge and Polestar 2. The Volvo C40 Recharge will have it built into the car from the factory. ItÂ’s exclusive to EVs and Volvo/Polestar products running the Android Automotive infotainment system. Volvo says the app has a range-optimizer functionality that automatically adjusts the climate control to improve range. ItÂ’ll also coach drivers with driving style and speed recommendations to increase range on longer trips. The app also comes with passive forms of range improvements. Volvo claims itÂ’ll help better manage battery and regeneration performance. Plus, it has a “smarter timer to precondition the batteries.” For example, when you input a charging destination into Google Maps, the car will automatically precondition the batteries to be ready for maximum charging speed by the time you arrive. ThereÂ’s more data for the driver to scan, too, as Volvo provides greater detail on the available range and real-time energy consumption. Volvo doesnÂ’t put a number or percentage on the range increase that drivers may experience with this new app, but does claim that range will go up because of it. In addition to the new app, Volvo says this latest OTA update includes “further improvements on the safety systems, new information about cold climate impact on battery range and various bug fixes.”  The app is scheduled to be rolled out to the applicable vehicles by the end of October. Its functionality will come baked into the complimentary four-year Volvo Care Package that all Volvo EVs automatically get. Of course, after those four years, youÂ’ll be on the hook for the data connection cost and package fee. Note that the Range Assistant appears to be tied up into this package, and while it wonÂ’t incur a separate fee, youÂ’ll need it and the data connection to take advantage of it after so many years. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.