Volvo S40 2011 News

That’s Volvo’s plan as it begins to roll out a range of electric and hybrid cars. It is making its own four-cylinder engine and plans to turbocharge it and add it to hybrid drivetrains within a few years. That means the end of Volvo five and six-cylinder engines, says Volvo’ senior vice president for product, Lex Kerssemakers. Speaking to Carsguide in Frankfurt, Mr Kerssemakers says Volvo’s Chinese owners - Geely - have supported the Swede and allowed a fresh look at new product.Though Mr Kerssemakers was reticent on detail, he says Volvo was now ready to release a new S40 - and its wagon variant, the V50 - which would boast increased fuel efficiency. “We had to ook at what we were and what we represented to our buyers,’’ he says. “We have always been seen as a company that was very aware of its social responsibility - and that includes the emissions of our cars - through safety. “We have progressed to making very good looking cars. We also make very good turbocharged engines - we have been doing turbocharging for 30-odd years - so now we have the basis for a step into the future.’’Kerssemakers says the new four-cylinder engine will be available in power outputs from 110kW to 220kW and deliver up to 440Nm of torque. “Now, put that with an electric hybrid drive with 200Nm and you have a very fast car that is capable of very low fuel consumption,’‘ he says. “Instantly, you have a sports car. It’s a very clear choice for us - ditch the cylinders. “We are developing our own engine nd it will be available in a few years. There will be overlap from the existing engines but ultimately, we will be a four-cylinder car company with hybrid and plug-in electric capability.’’Volvo is trialling a fleet of C30 plug-in cars in Scandanavia and is expected to start rolling out hybrid models from 2012. Kerssemakers says while Sweden doesn’t offer government subsidies for private motorists who choose low-emission cars such as hybrids, he says the cost benefit to the owner was very significant. Kerssemakers expressed concern about the plight of Saab. He says the possible loss of the company from Sweden would be “devastaing’‘ to supplier companies and to Sweden itself. “It also affects engineering and design students coming through universities and in that way, erodes Sweden’s value as a supplier of intellectual property,’‘ he says.Saab is still fighting for financial survival and was absent at the Frankfurt motor show.

The car brand trumpeted as the world's safest will catch up with the pack next month. Volvo is at last making sure every car it sells in Australia is equipped with ESP and traction control as standard. It has yet to confirm details of the ESP upgrade, including prices, though all Australian cars coming off the production line this month – which means deliveries in June once they are shipped from Sweden – will have the system. “We can confirm that dynamic stability control and traction control will be standard on all Volvo models from May production,” says Laurissa Mirabelli of Volvo Cars Australia. While Volvo is talking up its ESP upgrade, it is also working to finalise details of next year's model line-up after an upgrade last week in Europe. They should be here by October, and the all-new XC60 all-wheel-drive wagon will be the headliner. The most obvious change, on everything from the baby C30 to the C70, is a larger Volvo badge on the boot. It picks up the prominence of the badge on the XC60 and the latest mid-sized wagons. The only other change across the range, though not confirmed for Australia, is exterior mirrors that fold flat for parking. “There will be some minor changes to Volvo's MY09 line-up this year, as there is with its models every year,” Mirabelli says. “The MY09s won't be here until much later this year and we're not in a position to confirm the extent of the changes yet, given we're still going through the business case process.” She says there are only minor tweaks to the range, apart from the XC60, and nothing big on the technical front. In Europe, there are minor tweaks to nine models and one of the best is an optional system called Homelink. It uses buttons integrated into the sun visor to operate remote-controlled home appliances such as garage doors, house alarms and lighting. There is an upgrade of the optional satellite navigation on the S40 and V50, a hard load cover is now standard on all C30s and the climate control is upgraded in the C70 with the addition of the Powershift gearbox already fitted to the C30, S40 and V50. The S80 flagship gets heated washer nozzles and chronograph-style dials in the dash.  

The car industry uses a web of alliances to survive.Lust, affairs, one-night stands, engagements, marriages and divorces — it can be hard sharing your love. It can also be expensive, especially if the human analogy is applied to the car business.DaimlerChrysler's recent divorce cost the now-solo Daimler AG a cool $33 billion.Daimler and its former partner, now known by her maiden name of Chrysler Group, still share the kids.These include shared components and manufacturing, including the Chrysler Crossfire (based on the previous Mercedes-Benz SLK) and Jeep Grand Cherokee, which uses Mercedes' V6 diesel engine and transmission.Daimler-Benz and Chrysler courted in the late 1990s, sealing their association in 1998 with a new name, DaimlerChrysler.The marriage was mutually beneficial. Daimler gained economies of scale and a new customer for engines, transmissions and an outlet for its old platforms. The previous Mercedes E-Class shares the same platform as the Chrysler 300C.Chrysler gained unprecedented, cost-effective access to the drivetrains used to power its distinctively styled cars.Of the divorce, shareholders of Daimler- Chrysler spitefully said “I knew it wouldn't work”.Marriages may be difficult, but alliances are what keep many car companies afloat.All these inter-relationships are spurred by one goal — profit. So competitive is the car industry that every dollar counts.Making cars cheaper improves profits, even if that means relocating factories to countries with low labour costs, non-existent unions and tax-free government incentives.Few would know that 10 models on the Australian market are made in Thailand. South Africa makes five, there's one from the Czech Republic, three from Slovakia, one from Poland, four from Malaysia and one from Indonesia.Build quality in most cases is as good as you'd expect from a country-of-origin factory.The biggest difference is manufacturing costs. Building a Volkswagen Golf in Germany, for example, costs substantially more than building the same car in South Africa. Sharing components such as engines, transmissions, platforms and bodies with a rival company — or at least one perceived as being a rival — is big business.The platform of the Mazda3 is similar to the Volvo S40 and Ford Focus. Ford has a big chunk of Mazda's shares and owns Volvo outright.The Toyota Aygo, a one-litre hatch soon to be sold in Australia, is built in the Czech Republic with the Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107. The only differences are interior trim, grilles, head and tail lights. Everything else, except the badge, is identical.General Motors has a giant web of ownership, component sharing and minor shareholdings. It owns Saab and Hummer, and rebadges cars including the Daewoo Matiz as Chevrolets.GM owned 20 per cent of Fiat until it dissolved the relationship in 2005. But retains component sharing deals and owns 50 per cent of Fiat's JTD diesel engine technology.GM also has 3 per cent of Suzuki (it had 20 per cent until selling down in March 2006) and 7.9 per cent of Isuzu.This relationship crosses with Fiat. Suzuki buys Fiat diesel engines for its European cars but also buys diesels from the PSA group (owner of Peugeot and Citroen) and Renault. Fiat this year will also supply diesel engine's to Saab.The Suzuki Splash, to be launched in Europe later this year is based on the Swift/SX4 platform, but will be rebadged the Opel/Vauxhall Agila for European sales.Fiat sells the Suzuki SX4 as the Sedici in Europe.Suzuki also owns 11 per cent of GM-DAT, the Korean-based company that makes the Holden Epica, Captiva, Viva and Barina.GM sold its 20 per cent of Subaru parent, Fuji Heavy Industries, in 2005. Fuji bought back most of the shares, though Toyota bought in and now owns 8.7 per cent of the company.Toyota also owns Daihatsu and has a big stake in Yamaha. Yamaha has an engineering alliance with Toyota — twin-cam engine and multi-valve heads included — and recently created the V8 engine for Ford-owned Volvo.GM also gets its Saab plant in Sweden to make the Cadillac BLS mid-size car, alongside its Saab 9-3 and 9-5.The Hyundai Sonata's 2.4-litre engine is shared with the Jeep Compass, Dodge Caliber, Chrysler Sebring and Mitsubishi Outlander.Renault has an alliance with Nissan and owns Samsung (Korea) and has a joint venture with Mahindra (India).Porsche's Cayenne SUV is built in Volkswagen's factory in Slovakia alongside the Volkswagen Touareg and Audi Q7. Porsche's Cayman is built in Finland. That's just the tip of iceberg.Peyton Place has nothing on these guys.