Volvo plans plug-in future

Australians will in two years plug into Volvo in a way never previously thought possible. An electric-hybrid SUV with seven seats, replacing the current flagship XC90, will be the first Volvo on a new platform, with new drivetrains and a new way of doing business.

Volvo's vice president of product, Lex Kerssemakers, says that a few years after that Volvos will be made in China for the global market.
The ambitious globalisation of Volvo was outlined, in skeleton form at best, this week at the Frankfurt motor show.

"The next XC90, to be released next year, will be the first of our plug-in hybrids for Australia," Mr Kerssemakers says. "Others will follow but we believe that this is the best car to showcase our new technology." Hybrid power with electric motors is necessary for the larger Volvo models because the company will now make only four cylinder engines - two in fact, one a diesel and one petrol.

Mr Kerssemakers says this rationalisation brings efficient cost savings to the small company. But in admitting that some cars need more power - for performance or for towing - many will have the option of up to three electric motors. "We will be able to offer the same engine, for example, from 90kW to 275kW-plus," he says.

One of the more powerful versions has a twincharger (turbocharger and supercharger) engine with 275kW and 400Nm of torque. "When we add the electric motor to this engine, we have 600Nm. We know that very few customers want 600Nm of torque but it will be important to those who tow large boats or trailers and for those who want a performance car.

"But the point is that we can get all this performance from the one basic engine - that saves a lot of money for our business." Saving more money comes from Volvo's parent Geely that this week opened its first joint-venture factory in China. The factory, the first of three, will make the S60 long wheelbase sedan initially specifically for the Chinese market.

"The car can be exported from China, sure, and we're not shying away from making future cars for export in China," he says. "The factories and the quality are world class and even the facilities make our Swedish workers jealous. But to say that China will make all our cars for all our markets in the future is absolutely wrong."

"We will always make Volvo cars in Europe for the European market. It makes no sense making cars in China and then shipping them to Europe." But Mr Kerssemakers says it is practical for China-made cars to be exported to Asian markets, including the Asia-Pacific region into which Australia falls.

"The cars will be as good or better than those made in Europe." The cars to be made in China will start with the S60 - which from this week is being built in a new Chinese factory - but it may take a few years before it is offered in Australia and will not include the long wheelbase model.

The reporter is on Twitter: @cg_dowling