Luxury & supercar dealer H.R. Owen to offer complete supercar repair service with purchase of leading bodyshop.

• Luxury and supercar dealer H.R. Owen to offer complete supercar repair service with purchase of leading bodyshop Bodytechnics 
• Bodytechnics is the best in the business at repairing the rarest and most luxurious cars. Approved by Bentley, Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin, BMW, Maserati, Jaguar Land Rover and Tesla with approvals to follow shortly from Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce 
• Should the worst happen, H.R. Owen will be able to step in and take care of a customer’s car and repair it to officially approved standards 
• The new service is available immediately, through H.R. Owen’s Accident Management service, and means the dealer is able to look after customers during good times and bad 

H.R. Owen has expanded its support for its customers even further with the acquisition of leading accident repair company Bodytechnics. This most recent acquisition brings another element to the end-to-end concierge-style approach to client care offered by the UK’s number one luxury car dealer group. 

Bodytechnics is renowned as the UK’s leading bodyshop for prestige and luxury cars, fitting in perfectly with the H.R. Owen ethos of only offering the very best levels of service and care to their clients and further strengthening their offering way beyond sales and service.

Bodytechnics was established more than 20 years ago and enjoys long-standing relationships with many major luxury car manufacturers, including the likes of Bentley, Ferrari and Maserati, meaning it is able to carry out work that is officially approved by brands offered across the H.R. Owen group.

Bodytechnics sets itself apart from other accident repairers thanks to its expertise with the sort of rare and prestigious materials found on the most exclusive supercars and hypercars. The team is the best in the prestige accident repair business and is renowned for its ability to work with carbon fibre bodywork, and for its composite repairs.

Every aspect of the repair process, from the panel work to the paint shop, adheres to official standards set by the manufacturers, meaning that every fix is done to the highest possible level. The manufacturers regularly audit the work that Bodytechnics do, to ensure that it is at a consistent standard.

Staff are fully trained on all the latest repair methods on every manufacturer that Bodytechnics works with, although they specialise in specific models due to the technical nature of the work required.

As well as this new service, H.R. Owen is also able to offer insurance, prestige car hire and, for those special occasions, a chauffeur service that goes into London and beyond. This means that the dealer is able to bring the full circle of services, bringing whatever the client wants, when they want it.

H.R. Owen Ferrari has been named the best Ferrari dealership in the world, while Jack Barclay in Berkeley Square will be the only place in the UK where customers will be able to buy the new Chiron when it goes on sale later this year.

David Fellowes, Group Aftersales Director for H.R. Owen said: “H.R. Owen customers have been able to enjoy an unparalleled level of service when it comes to buying their car and when things are going well, but now we are able to help them out when the worst happens. Accidents happen, but they need not be a cause for concern for our customers, as we are now able to take care of everything, getting their car repaired and back on the road as good as new thanks to the expert team at Bodytechnics.”

Bodytechnics is based at state-of-the-art premises in Slough, meaning it is ideally located for H.R. Owen’s customers in London and in the South East.

Volvo becomes the first premium car maker to purchase the world’s most advanced Vi-Grade chassis simulator.

Volvo Cars has become the first premium car maker to purchase the world’s most advanced Vi-Grade chassis simulator – the same equipment used by Ferrari and Porsche – to develop next generation Volvos.

The simulator offers exciting virtual environments including Germany’s renowned Nürburgring as well as test tracks at Volvo Cars’ own secret testing facility in Sweden. It allows Volvo Cars to conduct extremely early stage development work on high speed stability, balance and individual drive mode settings, leading to the development of cars that are more responsive, more rewarding and even more enjoyable to drive.

Engaging control

“We are making substantial investments in people, technology and facilities in order to redefine the Volvo driving experience. Our aim is to deliver full control, ease and dexterity at the wheel. We will improve drivability across the entire Volvo Cars range,” said Dr Peter Mertens, Senior Vice President Research & Development at Volvo Cars.

The Swedish car maker uses the simulator’s virtual environments to support early development work on high speed stability, balance and individual drive mode settings. The use of simulation means that settings can be rapidly tested combining the experiential judgment of a real driver and computer-aided objective data analysis.

The move heralds a new beginning for Volvo Cars in terms of driving experience, claims Dr Mertens. “We have made some critical investments both in terms of our R&D facilities and in our product components in recent times that are now beginning to pay dividends. Our completely new scalable product architecture (SPA), our modular powertrain program and the latest chassis components are the starting point.”

Freedom to innovate

The new simulator means more freedom to innovate in the concept development phase and shorter development time, according to Dr Mertens, enabling a more emotionally resonant driving experience.

“The beauty of the new simulator is that it provides us with the opportunity to physically experience the calculation models and evaluate them using human test drivers, rather than staring at graphs and numbers in a meeting room,” says Stefan Karlsson, Manager Vehicle Dynamics at Volvo Car Group. “This is further testament to our commitment to human centric development and a cornerstone of developing a driving experience that is truly Designed Around You.”

Volvo takes control of joint ventures in China to become sole owners along with Parent, Geely Holdings.

Volvo Cars has taken control of its three joint venture operations in China for SEK2.2bn in order to more accurately reflect its growing presence in the world’s largest car market.

Volvo Cars now owns 50 per cent of its China joint ventures alongside Geely Holdings. These joint ventures include its car manufacturing facilities in Chengdu and Daqing, its engine manufacturing facility in Zhangjiakou and its research and development centre in Shanghai.

The move allows Volvo to fully consolidate its China joint ventures, providing a more accurate financial and operational picture of the company as it continues to expand in China. The company’s interim financial results announced today are the first to incorporate the China joint ventures.

“The incorporation of the Chinese entities is an important step towards the long term objectives to capture the growth and sourcing potential in China,” said Håkan Samuelsson, President and Chief Executive.

Volvo Cars has taken control of its three joint venture operations in China for SEK2.2bn in order to more accurately reflect its growing presence in the world’s largest car market.

Volvo Cars now owns 50 per cent of its China joint ventures alongside Geely Holdings. 

These joint ventures include its car manufacturing facilities in Chengdu and Daqing, its engine manufacturing facility in Zhangjiakou and its research and development centre in Shanghai.

The move allows Volvo to fully consolidate its China joint ventures, providing a more accurate financial and operational picture of the company as it continues to expand in China. The company’s interim financial results announced today are the first to incorporate the China joint ventures.

“The incorporation of the Chinese entities is an important step towards the long term objectives to capture the growth and sourcing potential in China,” said Håkan Samuelsson, President and Chief Executive.

Volvo cars completes the full purchase of Polestar Performance AB.

Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, has acquired 100 per cent of Polestar, the Swedish high performance car company, including the Polestar brand. Polestar will now be used as the model name for special high performance Volvos.

Polestar will also in future utilise Volvo’s twin engine electrification technology to develop next generation performance cars.

Volvo is the largest manufacturer of plug in hybrid cars in Europe and leader in advanced vehicle electrification technology. Volvo currently develops and manufactures some of the most powerful, most environmentally-friendly hybrid engines in the automotive industry.

Volvo and Polestar share a long history. They have been working in motor sport since 1996 and in recent years signed a cooperation agreement to jointly develop Polestar versions of Volvo cars that combine a comfortable Volvo driving experience with a very high level of power and handling.

“Driving a Volvo Polestar is a special experience. We have decided to bring this experience to more Volvo drivers, placing the full resources of Volvo behind the development of Polestar as the model name for our high performance cars,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars.

In 2015, Volvo expects to sell 750 Polestar versions of the V60 wagon and S60 sedan globally. Polestar sales are forecast to increase to between 1,000 and 1,500 cars a year in the medium term under Volvo’s ownership.

The Polestar brand is already firmly established internationally through the sale of Polestar-branded Volvos. Volvo will also benefit from the sale of aftermarket Polestar performance optimisation kits for existing Volvos.

No financial details of the deal have been disclosed. Existing Polestar Performance employees will become Volvo employees.

The Polestar racing team will remain under the control of Christian Dahl, the former owner of Polestar, and will be renamed. The Polestar brand will continue to work alongside Christian Dahl.

“We are extremely satisfied with the way the performance business with Volvo has developed. But we are a racing team first and foremost. This is an opportunity to return our full attention to our core business – to develop and race Volvo cars,” said Christian Dahl.

Additional Information

Volvo has acquired Polestar Performance AB, which comprises performance activities including performance-related software and aftermarket tuning hardware, as well as Polestar Holding AB, which is the owner of the Polestar trademarks. It has not acquired the racing division of Polestar.

The Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar feature a 350 horse power T6 engine, making the 0-100 km/h sprint in just 4.9 seconds, and an extensively developed chassis. The car demonstrates Volvo’s and Polestar’s engineering philosophy of delivering an engaging, precise and confident driving experience.

Polestar Performance Optimisations offer increased mid-range engine performance in combination with supporting changes for the gearbox and throttle response to make the car more dynamic and responsive to drive.