Volvo News

Cars without back windows? Cameras instead of mirrors? Electric cars that sound like petrol ones? Here's our Top 5 things car makers have fixed that weren't broken.

Reports out of the UK overnight have highlighted numerous software gremlins impacting examples of Volvo’s recently released EX30 EV SUV sold there. But Australian customers can rest easy with the local subsidiary telling CarsGuide vehicles delivered here are not affected.According to Autocar serious software issues have caused a range of faults from media screens going black and steering-wheel buttons not responding to cars failing to charge and emergency braking systems randomly activating.Despite Volvo UK’s commitment to rectify the problems “as swiftly as possible” the Autocar report alleges some owners have handed their cars back for refund.But a Volvo Australia spokesperson has confirmed this market’s status as a “deep water” export destination has helped it side-step the electrical problems.The deep water term relates to EX30 production in China taking around three weeks from build to showroom in Australia while delivery to Europe can be closer to nine weeks.And that flexibility has meant local cars had the latest, updated software installed to side-step any problems before customers took delivery.Speaking of which, the city-sized SUV has proved popular straight out of the gate. In its third month on sale the city-sized SUV recorded over 400 registrations for a year-to-date total (end June) in excess of 1000 units.

Volvo has developed the first battery passport, a way to trace the materials, composition, recycled content, carbon emissions and origin of its batteries. The game-changing blockchain tracing technology has been in the works for over five years in partnership with UK company Circulor. It is important because Volvo is a step ahead of other manufacturers such as Tesla, BYD and Ford, all of which will need to supply battery passports to sell electric cars in Europe from February 2027. Volvo's EX90 electric large SUV will launch the technology and it will steadily rolled out to all of Volvo’s electric cars including EX30, EX40 and future products. Also under the Geely umbrella is Polestar, the electric-only brand already using blockchain technology to trace its materials. Volvo has set a global date of 2030 to go fully electric while Australia will be ahead of the curve, selling EVs exclusively from 2026. Owners will be able to scan a QR code for a simplified version of the passport. Also included is a battery health assessment function that will be crucial for residual values. Regulators get access to more detailed information from the passport. This includes all aspects that supplier Circulor traces, including battery materials from mines, through refining processes, energy mixes being used by suppliers, shipping, to eventually ending up in a car for a total emissions figure.In addition to keeping track of emissions throughout production, blockchain technology will also shed light on which suppliers are being used and if they’ve committed human rights violations. "Car manufacturing has never been about which rock went into which component and which got connected to which car," Circulor CEO Douglas Johnson-Poensgen told Reuters. "It's taken a long time to figure that out," she added. 

Ever since it was flagged earlier this year as an ‘indirect replacement’ for the company’s original EV model, the Polestar 2, by CEO, Thomas Ingenlath, widespread speculation has kicked off over whether the Polestar 7 will even again be a Tesla Model 3-style sedan-esque liftback competitor.

Until recently it appeared certain an unstoppable EV wave was in the process of wiping out combustion-powered vehicles thanks to a combination of environmentally-focused consumer sentiment and government regulation driving carmaker product strategies.

Volvo is chasing down Tesla with a revolutionary process that will make its electric cars cheaper.The Chinese owned Swedish brand has committed to a “mega casting” manufacturing process in its next-generation electric cars, according to UK publication Autocar.The radical procedure die-casts large sections of the car such as the complex rear and front underbody in one piece.This apparently rolls hundreds of individual parts into one solid slab, which slashes production costs and increases efficiency that should make future vehicles cheaper.Tesla is currently the only car maker that uses this process, which allows it to sell its cars for less than competitors.In Australia, the Tesla Model Y starts at about $60,900 (before on-road costs) which is significantly less than rivals such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 ($65,000) and Toyota bZ4X ($66,000).According to reports Volvo will start by using the production technique on the rear floor, which will weigh 50 per cent less and require significantly less welded joints.Tesla currently uses the process for the front and rear floors but has recently abandoned plans for a one-piece cast floor from front to back.This coincides with Tesla halting development of its cut-price Model 2 small car that relied on the cost savings associated with the single piece casting technique.Tesla was believed to be targeting a US$25,000 ($37,800) price for the Model 2.Volvo has committed to be electric-only in Australia by 2026, which is when the maker is tipped to start mega-casting its cars, and it has a few holes in its EV line-up that need to be filled.It is likely the first Volvo model to use the cost-cutting process could be the EX60, the electric equivalent of the volume-selling XC60 mid-size SUV that would compete with the Model Y.The next-generation of the XC40 electric SUV, which will most likely be dubbed the EX40, could also be a candidate for the process.The recently launched EX30 little electric SUV and soon to arrive EX90 large SUV might join the end of the queue.Volvo’s parent company Geely also owns Polestar and a range of other electric vehicle brands such as the confirmed for Australia Zeekr. Both would be in line to use to same technique in the future.

Higher shipping costs mean the EX30 gets a price-bump on release, but one variant is better value than ever.

Volvo has renamed the XC40 Recharge and C40 Recharge to EX40 and EC40 as the brand prepares for EVs only in 2026.

Last year was a record year for new-vehicle sales in Australia, which was welcome news for carmakers following years of pandemic-related uncertainty. But aside from the dominant Toyota, there were some other sales surprises that didn't make the podium. These are the sales winners of 2023.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will have noticed a sharp increase in the number of electric cars on the roads of Australia in 2023. Sales are up nearly 200 per cent and more than 80,000 new examples were sold in the first 11 months of the year (almost as many as hybrid vehicles).