Polestar wins the FIA World Touring Car Championship, and releases special editions to celebrate.

Polestar celebrates winning the FIA World Touring Car Championship with Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar Performance World Champion Editions

Last week, Polestar Cyan Racing won the FIA World Touring Car Championship in a Volvo S60 Polestar TC1 race car, and the team’s Thed Björk secured the Driver’s Championship – the first Swede ever to win a motor racing world title. Polestar has today unveiled the Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar Performance World Champion Edition to celebrate Polestar Cyan Racing’s win.

“The engineers from Polestar and Cyan Racing have worked collaboratively on engineering developments for existing Polestar road cars for many years. It’s therefore fitting that we celebrate the remarkable achievement of securing our maiden World Championship by adding more performance to the cars that have been instrumental this season. With the Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar Performance World Champion Editions, we’ve created an accessible piece of history for many Volvo car owners,” said Christian Samson, responsible for Product and Development at Polestar.

The Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar Performance World Champion Editions are available on all D4, D5, T5 and T6 models and include all available enhancements offered by the Polestar Performance Parts programme, being the 19” bespoke Polestar light alloy wheels plus performance-focused tyres, a free-flow stainless-steel exhaust system and sports air filter as well as uprated suspension dampers and springs. Visually, the car is differentiated internally thanks to interior highlights such as the Polestar gear lever, and exterior details such as a rear diffusor and rear spoiler.

All cars also receive the Polestar powertrain optimisation that increases power by up to 10hp and 50Nm of torque, as well as delivering faster gearshifts and improved throttle response.

The Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar Performance World Champion Editions are available from any Polestar retailer globally, where the Polestar Performance Parts can be fitted to new or pre-owned cars. For more information, visit: engineered.polestar.com

Volvo cars continues to grow throughout the world, and with new models this wil continue.

Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, remains firmly on course for another record year in retail sales after posting an 8.2 per cent increase for the first six months of the year. Total sales in the first half of 2017 amounted to 277,641 cars, compared with 256,563 cars a year earlier.

Global retail sales in June came in at 54,351 cars, an increase of 5.7 per cent compared with the same month last year.

Strong demand for the new 90 series cars continues to be an important factor in Volvo's positive sales performance, while the first-generation XC60 remains the best-selling model overall.

The United Kingdom recorded sales of 5,018 in June, up 4.0 per cent over the same month in 2016. Sales for the first half of 2017 amounted to 24,519 cars, an increase of 8.4 per cent versus the same period last year. The XC60 is the best-selling model in the UK so far this year, followed by the V40, XC90 and the V90.

Jon Wakefield, Managing Director of Volvo Car UK, said: "These fantastic figures are a result of all the hard work from everyone at Volvo Car UK and our dealer network, and show that we're well on track for another record-breaking year of sales and growth for Volvo in the UK."

The Asia Pacific region reported sales growth of 27.3 per cent in June to 13,769 cars. Sales in China, Volvo's largest market, increased by a very healthy 30.9 per cent to 10,113 cars.

For the first six months, growth in the Asia Pacific region amounted to 22.6 per cent, while China was up 27.6 per cent for the period. The result was supported by strong demand for the locally produced XC60, S60L and S90 models.

First-half sales in the EMEA region were up by 6.6 per cent to 164,128 cars sold, as the region continued to see strong demand for the new V90 and XC90, as well as the XC60. Strong-performing markets include Sweden, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. June sales in the region were up 3.9 per cent.

The Americas region reported sales of 41,277 cars for the first six months of 2017, of which 34,102 were in the United States. The most popular model in the region is the XC60, followed closely by the XC90.

Retail sales status (deliveries to end customers) for Volvo Car Group is as follows:

		June			January - June
		2016	2017	Change	2016	2017	Change
Region EMEA		30,482	31,678	3.9%	153,953	164,128	6.6%
	United Kingdom Sweden	4,824 7,228	5,018 7,246	4.0% 0.2%	22,629 36,455	24,519 38,724	8.4% 6.2%
Region Asia-Pacific		10,816	13,769	27.3%	57,568	70,584	22.6%
	China	7,727	10,113	30.9%	40,688	51,914	27.6%
Region Americas		9,876	8,651	-12.4%	43,412	41,277	-4.9%
	USA	8,588	7,303	-15.0%	36,654	34,102	-7.0%
Other		257	253	-1.6%	1,630	1,652	1.3%
TOTAL		51,431	54,351	5.7%	256,563	277,641	8.2%

Globally, the Volvo XC60 was the best-selling model in June, with 16,905 cars sold (2016: 15,536), followed by the Volvo V40/V40 Cross Country, with 9,434 cars sold (10,142). The XC90 was third, with 7,972 sold cars (8,280)

Volvo, from 2019, will end cars that have only an internal combustion engine.

Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, has announced that every Volvo it launches from 2019 will have an electric motor, marking the historic end of cars that have only an internal combustion engine (ICE) and placing electrification at the core of its future business. 

The announcement represents one of the most significant moves by any car maker to embrace electrification, and highlights how, over a century after the invention of the internal combustion engine, electrification is paving the way for a new chapter in automotive history. 

“This is about the customer,” said Håkan Samuelsson, President and Chief Executive of Volvo Cars. “People increasingly demand electrified cars, and we want to respond to our customers’ current and future needs. You can now pick and choose whichever electrified Volvo you wish.” 

Volvo Cars will introduce a portfolio of electrified cars across its model range, embracing fully electric cars, plug-in hybrid cars and mild-hybrid cars. 

It will launch five fully electric cars between 2019 and 2021, three of which will be Volvo models and two of which will be high-performance electrified cars from Polestar, Volvo Cars’ performance car arm. Full details of these models will be announced at a later date.

These five cars will be supplemented by a range of petrol and diesel plug-in hybrid and mild-hybrid 48-volt options on all models, representing one of the broadest electrified car offerings of any car maker. 

This means that there will in future be no Volvo cars without an electric motor, as pure ICE cars are gradually phased out and replaced by ICE cars that are enhanced with electrified options. 

“This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car,” said Mr Samuelsson. “Volvo Cars has stated that it plans to have sold a total of 1m electrified cars by 2025. When we said it we meant it. This is how we are going to do it.” 

The announcement underlines Volvo Cars’ commitment to minimising its environmental impact and making the cities of the future cleaner. Volvo Cars is focused on reducing the carbon emissions of both its products as well as its operations. It aims to have climate-neutral manufacturing operations by 2025. 

The decision also follows this month’s announcement that Volvo Cars will turn Polestar into a new separately branded electrified global high-performance car company. Thomas Ingenlath, Senior Vice President Design at Volvo Cars, will lead Polestar as Chief Executive Officer. 

Volvo see's sales, revenues and profits all raise in the first half of the year, January-June

Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, has reported strong growth in operating profit of SEK6.8bn in the first half of 2017, compared with SEK5.6bn for the same period last year, after taking market share across Europe and experiencing a robust sales increase in China.

Revenues rose to SEK99.1bn from SEK84.2bn in the first six months of 2016, while the operating profit margin improved to 6.8 per cent from 6.6 per cent a year earlier, even as the company continues to invest heavily in new cars and technologies.

Sales for the first six months of the year increased 8.2 per cent compared with the same period last year to 277,641 cars. The first-half increase in sales means Volvo Cars remains firmly on course for a fourth consecutive record year.

“We have reported strong profits at the same time as making ongoing investments in our transformation,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive. “Our momentum continues to build.”

During the first half of 2017, the company took market share in the EMEA region, following healthy growth in several key markets. Sales were up by 6.6 per cent during the period.

In the Asia Pacific region and China in particular, Volvo outperformed the market. Sales in the region increased by 22.6 per cent, while China sales were up 27.6 per cent.

In the US, Volvo Cars expects to report solid full-year growth after a strong second half of the year. Delivery constraints affected first-quarter sales, but a return to growth during the second quarter and the impending start of delivery of the new XC60 mid-size SUV point to a stronger finish.

“Globally, we expect the pace of growth generated in the first half of the year to continue. We are confident we will report another record year in terms of sales,” said Mr. Samuelsson.

Later this year, Volvo Cars will launch its all-new XC40, its first entry into the fast-growing small premium SUV segment, completing the company’s SUV line-up

WORLDWIDE SALES JUNE - VW Group - Sales take an upward swing to nearly a million in the month.

• 920,700 Group vehicles delivered in June – a rise of 4.2 per cent
• Fred Kappler, Head of Group Sales: "June was very strong month for the Group and all brands improved deliveries."
• Deliveries in the first half of the year up by 0.8 per cent

Up to the end of June, the Volkswagen Group handed almost 5.2 million vehicles over to its customers. This corresponds to a rise of 0.8 per cent compared with the previous year. In the month of June, new vehicle deliveries rose by 4.2 per cent to 920,700. 

"June was a very strong month for the Group and all brands improved deliveries compared with the previous year," said Fred Kappler, Head of Group Sales of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft. 

"Stable growth in core regions gives us reason to look forward with confidence to the second half of the year," Kappler added.

In Europe, deliveries by the Group continued to grow. In June, 411,700 (+3.1 per cent) vehicles were handed over to customers. Growth of 3.5 per cent in deliveries was recorded in the first half of the year. 

Strong impetus for growth continues to come especially from Central and Eastern Europe, where deliveries in June were 13.2 per cent higher than in the previous year, at 67,000 new vehicles. This growth was driven by Russia (+14.8 per cent), the Czech Republic and Poland. 

While deliveries in the West European core markets also rose (+1.4 per cent), there was a fall of 2.3 per cent in the home market Germany in June, although this was less than the fall in the passenger car market as a whole.

In the North American region, the Group recorded significant growth (+9.1 per cent) in June, with 83,900 new vehicles handed over to customers. Especially Canada and the USA (+9.8 per cent) provided the main impetus for this development. Since the beginning of the year, 461,400 Group vehicles have been handed over to customers in North America, corresponding to a rise of 3.9 per cent. The upward trend in the South America region continues. In the first half, double digit growth of 11.4 per cent was achieved, with 248,300 Group models. Of these vehicles, 43,700 (+21.7 per cent) were delivered in June; growth in deliveries was also recorded as a result of the positive development in Brazil (+12.4 per cent).

The Asia-Pacific region reported almost 2 million vehicles handed over in the first half of the year (-2.7 per cent). These included 347,000 units (+4.1 per cent) delivered in June. In China, 315,300 vehicles were handed over to customers in June, corresponding to a rise of 5.2 per cent compared with the previous year. However, the figures for the first half were impaired by the weak first quarter. In the first six months of the year, the Group handed more than 1.8 million vehicles (-1.9 per cent) over to customers in China.

Overview of deliveries by the Volkswagen Group:

Deliveries to customers by markets				June 2017				June 2016				Change (%)				Jan.- June 2017				Jan.- June 2016				Change (%)
Europe				411,700				399,200				+3.1				2,271,800				2,195,500				+3.5
Western Europe				344,700				340,000				+1.4				1,905,800				1,871,400				+1.8
Germany				124,400				127,400				-2.3				678,600				685,100				-1.0
Central and Eastern Europe				67,000				59,100				+13.2				366,000				324,100				+12.9
Russia				16,700				14,500				+14.8				85,800				78,300				+9.5
North America				83,900				76,900				+9.1				461,400				444,100				+3.9
USA				51,600				47,000				+9.8				293,400				273,800				+7.2
South America				43,700				35,900				+21.7				248,300				223,000				+11.4
Brazil				25,700				22,900				+12.4				142,300				141,700				+0.4
Asia-Pacific				347,000				333,400				+4.1				1,986,200				2,041,900				-2.7
China				315,300				299,800				+5.2				1,826,000				1,862,100				-1.9
Worldwide				920,700				883,300				+4.2				5,155,600				5,115,900				+0.8

Deliveries to customers by brands				June 2017				June 2016				Change (%)				Jan.- June 2017				Jan.- June 2016				Change (%)
Volkswagen Passenger Cars				512,700				492,800				+4.0				2,935,100				2,924,900				+0.3
Audi				170,600				169,000				+1.0				909,000				953,300				-4.7
ŠKODA				105,200				98,800				+6.5				585,000				569,400				+2.8
SEAT				45,200				40,100				+12.6				246,500				216,800				+13.7
Porsche				22,500				20,300				+10.8				126,500				118,000				+7.2
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles				45,000				43,700				+3.1				249,800				237,900				+5.0
MAN				9,800				9,100				+7.2				52,700				49,300				+6.9
Scania				8,300				8,100				+1.7				43,600				40,300				+8.2
Volkswagen Group (total)				920,700				883,300				+4.2				5,155,600				5,115,900				+0.8