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Tag: volvo

  • Ford and Volvo Partner With Redwood Materials to Recycle EV Batteries

    Ford and Volvo Partner With Redwood Materials to Recycle EV Batteries

    Startup Redwood Materials is partnering with Ford and Volvo in an effort to recycle electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

    As the move to EVs picks up the pace, one of the biggest challenges is manufacturing new EV batteries, as well as recycling and disposal of old ones. Given the amount of rare-Earth metals in EV batteries, efficient recycling can significantly reduce production costs. Multiple companies are working the problem, including other car manufacturers, such as Nissan.

    Redwood Materials is a US-based startup that is the latest to tackle the issue, in partnership with Ford and Volvo. Beginning in California, the companies are establishing “the most comprehensive electric vehicle battery recycling program.” The program will accept all lithium-ion (Li-ion) and nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries in California.

    “We will work directly with dealers and dismantlers in California to identify and recover end-of-life packs,” the company says in a statement. “Redwood will then safely package, transport, and recycle these batteries at our facilities in neighboring Northern Nevada, and then return high quality, recycled materials back into domestic cell production. Overtime, as EOL packs scale, we expect these batteries to become valuable assets that will help make EVs more sustainable and affordable.”

    Redwood makes it clear the company welcomes other automakers to join its program and partner with it.

  • Volvo First Automaker to Pursue Fossil-Free Steel

    Volvo First Automaker to Pursue Fossil-Free Steel

    Volvo is working with Swedish steel maker SSAB in an effort to move to fossil-free steel for automotive production.

    Volvo has been one of the automakers working to transition to an all-electric lineup, with the company planning on completing the transition by 2030. Not content to stop there, the company is looking to reduce its carbon footprint even further by exploring fossil-free steel — steel made with electricity and hydrogen energy instead of coal-fueled furnaces.

    SSAB is working to bring commercial scale fossil-free steel to the market by 2026, and Volvo is wasting no time exploring its viability for auto production.

    “As we continuously reduce our total carbon footprint, we know that steel is a major area for further progress,” said Håkan Samuelsson, chief executive at Volvo Cars. “The collaboration with SSAB on fossil-free steel development could give significant emission reductions in our supply chain.”

    “We are building an entirely fossil-free value chain all the way to the end customer,” Martin Lindqvist, President and CEO at SSAB said. “Our breakthrough technology has virtually no carbon footprint and will help strengthen our customer´s competitiveness. Together with Volvo Cars, we aim to develop fossil-free steel products for the cars of the future.”

  • Volvo Will Transition to All-Electric Lineup by 2030

    Volvo Will Transition to All-Electric Lineup by 2030

    Volvo has become the latest company to embrace an all-electric lineup, promising to achieve that goal by 2030.

    One company after another has committed to phasing out internal combustion engines. Subaru has committed to an all-electric lineup by the mid-2030s, Bentley by 2030, GM by 2035 for light-duty vehicles and Ford by 2030 for the EU market.

    Volvo has now committed to an all-electric lineup by 2030 and plans to phase out any remaining internal combustion models by then, including any remaining hybrids. The company is positioning its decision as an investment in the future, rather than hanging on to a dying business.

    “To remain successful, we need profitable growth. So instead of investing in a shrinking business, we choose to invest in the future – electric and online,” said Håkan Samuelsson, chief executive. “We are fully focused on becoming a leader in the fast-growing premium electric segment.”

    As a short-term goal, the company plans to transition to an electric and hybrid lineup by 2025, with its global sales split between the two categories.

    Volvo’s goal is one of the more ambitious among auto manufacturers, and will likely put additional pressure on its larger rivals.

  • Volvo’s Self-Driving Cars Will Use LiDAR In 2022

    Volvo’s Self-Driving Cars Will Use LiDAR In 2022

    Volvo plans on using LiDAR in its next generation of self-driving cars, scheduled to begin production in 2022.

    LiDAR is a technology that uses lasers to scan the environment, creating a highly accurate, 3D map of the surroundings. Best of all, LiDAR enables devices to map the environment without an internet connection. In 2018, Volvo invested in Luminar, a Florida-based firm specializing in LiDAR technology, and now the company plans to put it to use in self-driving cars.

    “Soon, your Volvo will be able to drive autonomously on highways when the car determines it is safe to do so,” said Henrik Green, chief technology officer at Volvo Cars. “At that point, your Volvo takes responsibility for the driving and you can relax, take your eyes off the road and your hands off the wheel. Over time, updates over the air will expand the areas in which the car can drive itself. For us, a safe introduction of autonomy is a gradual introduction.”

    “Volvo is recognized as the pioneer of automotive safety, having driven standardization across the industry for the most advanced life-saving technologies,” said Austin Russell, founder and CEO of Luminar. “The next era of safety lies within autonomous driving and once again, Volvo has taken the lead with a major industry milestone. We’ve solved the key cost, performance, and auto-grade challenges to make series production possible, and alongside Volvo are making the technology available to the world.”

    One of the biggest challenges automakers have is convincing people to trust self-driving technology. With Volvo’s track record for safety, however, the company will likely have customers lined up to purchase their LiDAR-equipped vehicles.

  • The Best Volvo Ad of All Time Doesn’t Come from Volvo

    The Best Volvo Ad of All Time Doesn’t Come from Volvo

    As a member of the Volvo-owners club since 2001, I can attest to the inexplicable draw of the Swedish-made automobile. There’s just something about a Volvo, man.

    No, there’s just something about this Volvo. According to the legend of the owner’s grandfather’s father’s grandchild’s grandchild child, at least, it’s haunted.

    If you’re near Malmö, Sweden and have 7,500 Swedish crowns to spare, there’s a guy who really wants you to buy his 1993 Volvo 245GL. He wants you to buy it so badly that he created quite possibly the best Volvo ad in the history of Volvo.

    I’m assuming that you do in fact want to be perceived as rich and cuddly, so that’s a pretty solid marketing pitch right there. I’d be neglectful if I didn’t mention that it has a new battery and radiator, as well as summer and winter tires very round rubber humps.

    Who knows if this viral ploy will lead to a sale–but the viral part of the ploy is 100 percent certified. Between the Buy My Volvo (English) and original Köp Min Volvo videos, our pitchman has racked up nearly three-quarters of a million views.

    Image via PonyHans, YouTube

  • Car Seats By Volvo May Be The Most Amazing Thing Ever

    Sometimes a company comes along with a concept or idea that is so absolutely amazing and yet surprisingly simplistic, you wonder why in the heck we’re just now getting it.

    This is the best description of Volvo’s take on the car seat.

    That’s right the car seat—that clunky piece of plastic that is meant to keep your kid safe, but is otherwise a cumbersome pain in the rear.

    Volvo‘s version of the rear-facing car seat is a jaw-dropping affair when compared to today’s standard models.

    It almost makes one want to run out and have children just to have an excuse to use it.

    Almost.

    The Volvo car seat looks like it will be a lot of fun for parents and kids alike:

    Volvo’s unique concept involves a car seat that can be inflated and deflated with the press of a button.

    The item inflates or deflates in about forty seconds. Once deflated, it folds neatly enough to be carried around in a simple backpack.

    The item is easy to store and can be carried around discreetly. When a parent is ready to use it, they can have their child buckled in within the span of about a minute.

    With the Volvo prototype being so simplistic, some expect that the design will prove lightweight.

    In actuality, the car seat is meant to be rather sturdy.

    The fabric is made to withstand high internal pressure due to its military origin.

    Originally the fabric was made as part of an “inflatable plane” concept. While the plane prototype never worked out, the material is currently a staple of the boating industry.

    The fabric of the car seat is thought capable of withstanding serious damage. All this while being able to fit into certain over-sized handbags.

    Power and convenience? Yes, please!

    There is no word as to when this concept car seat will be available for purchase, but the prototype has generated a lot of buzz on the internet.

    Image via Volvo Car SA, Twitter

  • Volvo XC90 To Include Apple CarPlay

    Volvo XC90 To Include Apple CarPlay

    Volvo may not be a name that comes to mind when we in America consider purchasing a new car, but it may jump a few spots up the list after the company’s recent announcement regarding the newest version of their XC90 SUV.

    The company has made it known that the most recent iteration of the XC90 will include Apple CarPlay, which will enable drivers to use all of the capabilities of their iPhone without the danger or hassle of having to take their attention away from the road.

    Mobile phones have changed the way people communicate forever, but with that has come the danger of individuals paying far more attention to the device in their hand than oncoming traffic. While campaigns against texting while driving may have some success, companies like Apple are racing to adapt to the consumer, and CarPlay hopes to change the way people interact with their vehicles. Using the built-in dashboard touchscreen drivers will be able to play their favorite music, answer phone calls, navigate, and perform any number of tasks without taking their eyes off of the task at hand.

    While the news is exciting for Volvo fans (if such a group of people exists) other companies will be offering the technology in their vehicles. Those companies include Honda, Ferrari, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, and Jaguar.

    However, the XC90 has other tricks up its sleeve, like featuring both an electric “booster engine” along with a 4-cylinder gas-powered engine which can work in tandem to drastically improve mileage and boast greater power over other hybrids.

    Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson made it clear that the company needs to do something to separate itself from its competitors. In an interview at the Geneva Motor Show he was quoted as saying “Sometimes you have to make radical choices, but we’re not a bit nervous about it. The brand has to stand out a bit more.”

    And if all of these things don’t win you over the Volvo’s side, take a look at their amazing ad featuring the Muscles from Brussels himself, Jean-Claude Van Damme or the spoof by the equally badass Chuck Norris.

    [Image via Consumer Reports]

  • Channing Tatum Spoofs Van Damme’s Split [VIDEO]

    Remember Jean-Claude Van Damme’s amazing split for Volvo we told you about last week? Well, Channing Tatum decided to try out a similar split on the set of 22 Jump Street, and let’s just say that one man’s epic split turned out to be another man’s epic fail.

    Don’t worry–Tatum didn’t get between two trucks to attempt his split. Instead, he stood on two food carts while two guys spread the carts farther apart. Even though Tatum may have appeared to defy the laws of physics in Magic Mike, that didn’t happen so much in his split attempt.

    “I’ve had my ups and downs,” Tatum says in character as officer Jenko, spoofing Van Damme’s voice over in the Volvo ad. “Being an undercover cop. That’s what made me what I am today. Surviving high school is no easy task, but because of this, my body is now engineered to defy the law of physics and a mindset to master the most epic of splits.”

    Watch Channing Tatum’s attempt to be like Jean-Claude Van Damme in the minute-long YouTube video below. It’s probably safe to say that he won’t be getting between two trucks trying this out anytime soon.

    Ouch. While we didn’t get to see Tatum’s fall to the ground, we do see him grabbing his crotch and letting out a few choice words. From the looks of things, either Tatum really is a heck of an actor, or it’s a good thing he and his wife Jenna have already spawned an offspring. Now if only they could get Tatum’s on-screen partner in 22 Jump Street, Jonah Hill, to try this out.

    No surprise there, but Channing Tatum’s fans are loving his spoof video on Twitter:

    And now for the video that inspired Tatum’s attempt–watch Jean-Claude Van Damme’s amazing split below.

    [Images via YouTube]

  • Jean-Claude Van Damme’s New Volvo Ad Is Mind-Blowing

    There are splits, and then there are epic splits. I’m going to say that this new Volvo Trucks ad featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme has some of the latter.

    Bonus Enya below:

    Holy crap. That dude is 53 years old. And he’s doing the splits for everyone.

    According to Volvo, the ad is supposed to demonstrate “the precision and directional stability of Volvo Dynamic Steering — a world first technology that makes the new Volvo FM easier to drive.” Ok, whatever. I can’t comprehend actual concepts right now – Jean-Claude Van Damme just blew my mind.

    Image via Volvo Trucks, YouTube

  • Tesla Outsells Porsche And Others In California

    The state of California has long been considered to be more accepting of green technologies, especially in the realm of automobiles. Jokes about the streets being filled with the hybrid Toyota Prius are well known and made often. It should come as no surprise then that the residents of the state have been buying up cars from Tesla motors in the past year at a high rate.

    Tesla Motors, which produces electric cars exclusively and is located in Palo Alto, CA, did the near unthinkable this past year by outselling such powerhouse car makers as Porsche, Land Rover, Volvo, Lincoln, and Jaguar. The company, which has seen a 3000% increase in sales over the past year, has obviously claimed its spot among the big boys of the automotive industry.

    While having an electric car when gas prices are through the roof is a good enough incentive to buy, it helps when the cars are quality made, as evidenced by Tesla’s recent perfect score in crash test ratings

    While Tesla has plenty to celebrate, the company is still looking up the sales rankings at other titans of the industry. Mercedes, BMW, and of course Toyota outsold Tesla in California. In fact, There were over 33,000 new Prius cars registered in the state, which is over 28,000 more than the number of new Tesla cars. However, if Tesla keeps growing at such an extreme rate they could be knocking on Toyota’s door soon.

    [Image via the Tesla Motors YouTube channel]

  • Volvo Recall: Car Manufacturer Fined $1.5 Million

    Volvo recall: Although the car manufacturer is thought to produce some of the safest automobiles money can buy, apparently even they are prone to making mistakes. Between 2010 and 2012, the company recalled roughly 32,000 vehicles for a variety of issues, including incorrect tire-pressure labeling, defective airbag deployments, and stalling engines. Although the company eventually alerted consumers about the recalls, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration thought Volvo’s handling of the situation was a little on the slow side. At the end of the day, the company will have to fork over $1.5 million in fines.

    Of course, Volvo isn’t admitting that it did anything wrong. In fact, the reason they decided to pay the fine was to “avoid a protracted dispute and possible litigation”. In other words, spending $1.5 million is quite a bit cheaper than fighting the allegations in court. Lawyers are, after all, a tad expensive, especially when you can just pay a small amount of money to make the problem go away. When you make as much money as Volvo does on a yearly basis, $1.5 million is practically chump change. They’ll make that much back in a heartbeat.

    According to federal law, car manufacturers have five business days to inform the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about an impending recall. If they fail to do so, fines will be issued. This, of course, is why Volvo was staring down a multi-million dollar penalty in the first place. They failed to take the proper steps when the threat of a recall was looming on the horizon, and they ultimately paid the price for their actions.

    So did the company walk away with a head full of lessons learned? According to a statement, Volvo said that “dedication to quality and consumer safety is paramount. After several conversations with NHTSA about its reporting rules, Volvo Car Corp. has taken steps to improve the review process and analysis of potential quality and safety issues with our vehicles. We are in agreement with NHTSA’s objective to communicate with the agency and consumers in a timely manner. It’s important to note that, in each of the subject cases, a voluntary recall had been conducted and no injuries, fatalities or property damage claims were reported.”

    In short, probably not. Unless, of course, the lesson was to not get caught doing anything wrong. However, the settlement did say that Volvo has “streamlined the internal investigation and recall decision-making process to improve the timeliness of necessary notifications to NHTSA.”

  • Jeremy Lin Might Score Endorsement with Volvo

    Jeremy Lin continues to enhance its global presence. Last Friday we reported that a new strain of weed, Linsanity OG, was named to honor the player’s winning streak and now Lin is in the midst of negotiating an endorsement deal with Zhejiang Geely Holding’s Volvo car brand in China.

    This would be one of Lin’s first business deals with a globally recognized brand. His first real deal was with Nike in 2010 when he was a Golden State Warrior. ESPN Radio also reported in the middle of February that Nike planned to release a new shoe that features the Knicks’ blue and orange and “Lin” on the back of the heel.

    Lin’s February winning streak has been bringing in increased revenue for the Knicks, higher TV ratings, and a growing number of potentially lucrative business deals; in fact, so many opportunities have been coming Lin’s way that his agent has been seeking outside help to assist with the negotiation process.

  • More Proof That Good Ideas Transcend Time And Media

    I can’t get over this wonderful project Google is doing called, Project Re: Brief. In it, the folks at Google take great advertising from the past and have the original creatives re-look at the big idea and how they might apply it in today’s advertising and marketing landscape. The first project looked at the classic Coke commercial from 1971 where a group of people from around the world sang to the world that they’d like to buy them a Coke. Harvey Gabor, the original Art Director who was part of the team that developed the ad came back and met with Google and developed an idea that he thought would communicate the idea today. The idea he developed was brilliant and the marketing team at Coke loved it and implemented it immediately. Gabor proved to everyone involved that a great, big idea transcends time and translates into any medium.

    For the second great ad from the past, Google contacted the creators of the original Volvo advertising to see how they would re-imagine their big idea from 1962. The team is now legendary and in all the advertising history books having founded one of the greatest agencies of its time, Ally & Gargano. “Be blunt, open and honest. Find the truth, and then hit people over the head with it,” were the words they lived by.

    When Volvo decided they wanted to introduce their Swedish-made automobile to America they asked Carl Ally and Amil Gargano to help. The truth the creative duo uncovered for Volvo was that their cars lasted an average of 11 years which was double that of their American counterparts. Based on this, the agency developed the line, “Drive it like you hate it.” The campaign is considered one of the greatest in automotive advertising.

    When Amil met with the Google creative team he told them that “technology left him in the past and that he typically ignored it.” He also said that “great advertising is great storytelling,” “a message is a message,” and that it was “content that mattered.” Universal thoughts for the team to develop some refreshed, re-invented ideas for a technically savvy audience.

    Volvo’s brand has evolved since Ally & Gargano helped introduce the literally anonymous automobile to Americans nearly 50 years ago, but the essence of the brand is still “brutally real.” So the team decided to keep the car still as the star. They built on the “toughness” idea and used the insight that Volvo enthusiasts had been longtime members of 100,000 mile clubs and that one gentleman in particular had a sixties Volvo with nearly 3 million miles on it. So they developed a theme of “three million miles of memories,” and created a series of web display ads for tablets. The ads tell stories about the car and even allow you to ride in it and experience it

    Never has there been such an exciting time to bring great ideas to the modern technology that allows us to tell real and better stories easily to everyone in so many ways. The ability we have now to connect to consumers with the content they want is the avenue for continuing to create and communicate with excellent, memorable, true ideas that move people and build great brands. In the words of Amil Gargano, “Content is what matters.”

    @JoeMurray222
    Joe Murray    @jorianm using social media as a form of advertising. Good to see Volvo is moving forward #21stcentury 3 days ago via Twitter for iPhone ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

  • Volvo Introduces New Airbag

    Volvo Introduces New Airbag

    Swedish automaker Volvo has introduced the world’s first external airbag for pedestrians. Volvo, long known for it’s excellent safety standards for drivers, has been developing ways to ensure the safety of those outside of a vehicle as well. The company unveiled its external airbag concept at the Geneva Motor Show this week.

    The airbag is deployed when proximity sensors detect an impending collision with a pedestrian. The airbag sits under the hood, and when activated, it inflates to a U-shape at the bottom of the windshield. The hood is likewise raised a bit. The U-shape allows the driver to still see forward, but works to protect anyone getting nailed from serious head and neck injuries.

    Volvo states that 12% of car accident deaths in the U.S. surround collisions with pedestrians, and claims that if other car companies were to follow suit with its new safety feature, the number of road fatalities would drop. The Volvo V40 hatchback will be the first car to incorporate the airbag design, and will include the pedestrian detection system, which will prevent the bag from deploying at random. The V40 will also stop on its own when a pedestrian is detected, if the driver fails to apply the brakes first.

    The car maker states that its Vision 2020 program pledges that “nobody shall be seriously injured or killed in a new Volvo.”

    It seems to me like the U-shaped design might not really work too well on taller pedestrians. Still, the feature is indicative of the coming advances in auto safety technology.