USA SALES MAY - Volvo has posted 11 straight months of double digit growth, & it will continue with new models.

• Volvo Posts Eleven Months of Consecutive Double Digit Sales Growth

Volvo Car USA, LLC, (VCUSA) reported U.S. sales of 5,536 vehicles, a 10.2 percent increase versus May 2015. Year-to-date sales are up 20 percent versus 2015. Sales for the month of May were led by the award-winning XC90 luxury SUV with 2,467 vehicles sold.

“With 10 percent growth for May while the overall industry is down, and now eleven months of double digit sales growth, it is a true testament to the transformation of Volvo in the US,” said Lex Kerssemakers, President and CEO, Volvo Car USA.

Volvo is implementing a sweeping $11 billion transformation plan that has involved the development of its own modular vehicle architecture, a new engine range, global manufacturing capability, a completely renewed product range and world leading developments in safety, autonomous driving and connectivity.

Volvo gives the V40 and Cross Country a new front look, now sporting the "Thor's Hammer" headlights.

Volvo Cars gives its bestselling V40 and V40 Cross Country the new face of Volvo for Model Year 2017, with trim updates across the range. Central to the model year exterior updates are new LED ‘Thor’s Hammer’ headlights, resulting in a confident new look shared with Volvo’s new XC90, S90 and V90. 

In the UK, these all-LED lights mark the V40 and V40 Cross Country out as the first models in the segment to get LED headlights as standard across the range. Also new are grille meshes featuring the updated and more visually striking Volvo Iron Mark.

“The V40 is the best-selling Volvo model in the UK, making it a vital car for the company. With the updates for Model Year 2017, we’re making this already very successful model even more attractive to customers,” said Nick Connor, Managing Director of Volvo Car UK.

The exterior update includes the addition of eight new wheels across the V40 and V40 Cross Country models, and five new colours to the V40 range, including the completely new Amazon Blue and Denim Blue, as well as three colours already used by other models in the Volvo Car UK portfolio: Bursting Blue, Mussel Blue and Luminous Sand.

Continuing its innovative approach to powertrain engineering, Volvo has reduced CO₂ emissions on its popular D2 manual powertrain to just 89 g/km in all trim level and wheel options.

The V40's trim structure has also been changed in line with that of the new XC90. Customers can now choose from Momentum and Inscription versions, along with the sports-inspired R-Design and the rugged Cross Country.

In a cue taken from the award-winning Volvo Concept Estate, a new upholstery called City Weave will be added. Several new interior panel trims will also be offered: Milled Aluminium, Black Grid Aluminium and Stealth Aluminium. New tread plates will be added for the R-Design and Inscription trim levels, and an updated key fob with the new Volvo logo will be available.

Volvo On Call

The Volvo On Call smartphone app, which allows remote access and control over a wide range of in-car features, receives a substantial update. Volvo On Call already delivers wearable connectivity (Apple Watch/Android Wear), and the new Microsoft Band 2 connectivity now enables voice-control for certain features when using Windows 10-based smartphones.

Other updates to Volvo On Call include a calendar integration function that connects your personal calendar to the mobile app, allowing it to send calendar appointment destinations directly to your navigation on request. For 2016, Volvo On Call will broaden its scope and provide support for up to 10 Volvo vehicles, giving access to all the usual functions across a fleet of cars.

Volvo will also introduce Flic button compatibility with Volvo On Call. Flic allows you to program a single physical ‘smart button’ to perform several tasks, such as locking your car, and can be used as a shortcut to Volvo On Call services.

Volvo now also offers support for Windows 10 with a new version of the Volvo On Call application that can be used on regular PCs and tablets to interact with your car.

VOLVO 2 - The head of Volvo Car USA shares it's plan to deal with global challenges facing the auto industry

The head of Volvo Car USA helped open the Chicago Auto Show today by sharing the Swedish automaker’s plan to deal with global challenges facing the auto industry.

Addressing the Economic Club of Chicago, Lex Kerssemakers, Senior Vice President Americas and President and CEO, Volvo Car USA, presented the company’s outlook on how emissions, congestion and accidents will shape tomorrow’s driving experience, and how they have shaped Volvo’s business strategy.

Standing beside the new S90 luxury sedan set to go on sale later this year, Kerssemakers pointed out the car is the second of nine new models Volvo will introduce in the next four years, and the first car in the U.S. to come with semi-autonomous driving features as standard equipment.

A Bold Vision

Volvo was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1927 based on the guiding principle beind everything the company makes is, and must remain, safety. This has driven the company’s efforts to build cars that protect occupants. Volvo’s many world firsts in safety include the three-point seatbelt, Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) and Side Impact Protection System (SIPS).

Vision 2020 is Volvo’s latest safety initiative. Launched in 2007 it states that no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo by the year 2020.

“It is unacceptable that more than 1.2 million people are killed in traffic annually,” Kerssemakers said. “Here in the US, the figure is approximately 33,000 people. Zero is the only acceptable number for us to work toward.”

He continued, “Volvo has always been a leader in safety innovation. And now technologies such as our low speed autonomous braking solution, pedestrian, cyclist, and animal detection all are key steps on our autonomous drive journey. As they have evolved as individual solutions, we now bring them together in an intricate and advanced system. This allows us to offer our second generation semi-autonomous system on the all new Volvo S90.”

The S90 will be the first vehicle for sale with semi-AD standard. It will be able to accelerate, brake and steer at speeds up to 80mph, without needing a car to follow in front.  

In addition to safety, Volvo’s Vision 2020 is about reducing traffic congestion. In 2014 Americans collectively lost 6.9 billion hours to congestion. Chicago is the eighth most congested city in the U.S. Chicagoans together lost a total of 302 million hours due to congestion and nearly $1,500 per driver, well above the nationwide average of $960.

“At the end of 2017 we will have the largest and world's first fleet of 100 autonomous vehicles in the hands of real customers,” Kerssemakers told the audience. “’Drive Me’ is a unique collaboration between Volvo Cars and other stakeholders in our home town of Gothenburg, Sweden. It will allow real customer feedback to help develop the first AD cars available to a wider audience. It will also assist authorities to understand how legislation, infrastructure planning and other societal elements will need to develop.”

VOLVO 1 - Volvo showcases the S90, XC60 and the multiple award winning XC90 SUV.

The new Volvo S90 luxury sedan made its Chicago debut today at the Chicago Auto Show, while the XC90 SUV presented with three awards. Volvo’s complete lineup of premium cars will be on display at McCormick Place February 12-21.

The S90 has been widely praised since its reveal to the world’s press in December for its stunning exterior and sumptuous interior. Its proud yet non-aggressive face, characterised by a concave grille, itself a homage to the Volvo P1800, is home to Volvo’s new Iron Mark. The T-shaped Thor’s Hammer lights deliver a powerful sense of direction that makes the S90 unmistakable on the road.

Inside this low, wide sedan, Volvo has taken cues from the success of its XC90 model and raised the bar with some stunning details on the new dashboard and instrument panel, including new air blades that stand vertically on each side of the Sensus user interface.

“We created our new flagship sedan, the Volvo S90, as a real game changer. It is classy and cool. The exterior is exceptionally well surfaced with a fantastic stance and the sort of clean lines that are singularly appropriate of a Scandinavian design. The interior masters the art of blending innovative technology and natural materials into an elegant, welcoming and tasteful ambience, Swedishness at its best,” said Thomas Ingenlath, Senior Vice President, Design at Volvo Car Group.

The launch of the new S90 forms the second chapter in the complete renewal of Volvo’s product range, which began in 2015 with the new XC90 SUV.

The seven-passenger XC90 was given a MotorWeek Driver’s Choice award, named Best Family Car by the Midwest Automotive Press Association (MAMA), and was selected as a Consumer Guide Automotive Best Buy (Premium Midsize Crossover/SUV) at separate media events here.

These additions bring to 26 the number of awards the XC90 has received this model year in the U.S., including Motor Trend’s 2016 SUV of the Year and the 2016 North American Truck of the year. Globally, the XC90 has won more than 70 awards since being launched in July 2015.

“Volvo means ‘I roll’ in Latin, and we are really rolling,” Kerssemakers said. “These awards come from experts we hold in the highest regard for their knowledge and uinderstanding of what makes a good car, which is what makes each of them so valuable.”

Designed and engineered from the ground up, the XC90 is the first vehicle built on the Swedish car company’s new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA), which will underpin many new products over the coming years, including the S90, which is scheduled to go on sale later this summer. A supercharged and turbocharged two-liter engine with 316-horsepower delivers an EPA-rated 25mpg on the highway.

The XC90 is equipped with Intellisafe, a suite of standard safety features and technologies that make it an IIHS Top Pick+. Sensus, Volvo’s unique infotainment system, is controlled through a 9.3-inch tablet-like touch screen that allows drivers an incredible amount of personalization. Apple CarPlay is available now and Android Auto is coming soon.