Volvo Cars has provided details of its strategy for vehicle electrification over the next five years, as well as revealing insights into the technology used in its upcoming compact car platform, Compact Modular Architecture (CMA).
Electrification
Volvo has revealed how it intends to ensure that electrified vehicles account for around 10% of its total car sales by 2020. The automaker said in a statement that the first elements of its strategy would involve the introduction of further plug-in hybrid versions of its vehicles under the "Twin Engine" moniker. Joining the second-generation XC90, which already uses such a powertrain, will be other E-segment "90 series" models such as the forthcoming S90 sedan, as well as its next-generation D-segment "60 series" models such as the S60 sedan and XC60 crossover. These models will be underpinned by the same Scalable Product Architecture (SPA). Volvo added that it would also broaden its plug-in hybrid offerings by introducing new front-wheel-drive variants.
In addition, Volvo said that its forthcoming CMA platform (see below), which will underpin a new range of C-segment "40 series" models, was also being developed with electrification in mind. It noted that this made it "one of very few car makers in the world with two brand new vehicle architectures designed to support both plug-in and pure electric powertrain configurations".
Furthermore, the company also revealed that it was intending to build an all-electric passenger car scheduled to reach the market by 2019. It said that it would release further details of this planned model at a later date.
CMA
Volvo also revealed further details of its forthcoming CMA platform, which will underpin a forthcoming range of new and replacement compact vehicles. In a statement, the carmaker said that CMA would allow it to offer its compact car customers the same type of engineering benefits enjoyed by owners of its larger, SPA-based models. Technology that will be shared between the two platforms include powertrains (both conventional and plug-in hybrid variants); infotainment; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC); data networks; and safety systems. It also said that CMA would help change the way the automaker built its products by allowing a wide range of cars, powertrains, electrical systems, and technologies of varying complexity to be fitted on the same architecture, helping to generate "significant economies of scale and a more streamlined manufacturing process". The company added that the first vehicle featuring this platform would be introduced during 2017 and should help support an increase in Volvo's annual global sales to around 800,000 units.
WTCC challenger revealed
Volvo also revealed that it was intending to make a return to the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) racing series from 2016. The automaker will race two S60 Polestar TC1 sedans under the Polestar Cyan Racing banner as part of a multi-year deal. This follows on the heels of a successful Swedish Touring Car Championship (STCC) campaign, having taken the title for three successive years. The vehicle features a 400-hp variant of Volvo's gasoline (petrol) turbocharged Drive-E engine.
Outlook and implications
Volvo has been highly active in the development of vehicle electrification over the years, but it is only in recent times that it has started to bring this technology to market. Among the vehicles that have gone into production was the diesel plug-in hybrid V60 during 2013, joined in 2015 by gasoline plug-in hybrid versions of the XC90 and S60, the latter having been developed for the Chinese market. The company has also been running a fleet of its now defunct C-segment C30 models using an electric powertrain to collate data on consumer usage. It appears that its work in this area has been particularly fruitful. Dr Peter Mertens, Volvo's senior vice-president for research and development (R&D), said in a statement related to the company's electrification strategy, "We have learned a lot about how people use cars with electrification thanks to our current product offer...Our research has shown that people are driving our Twin Engine cars in electric mode around 50% of the time, meaning our plug-in hybrids already offer a real alternative to conventional powertrain systems." He also suggested that Volvo's battery management delivered "the best range per kilowatt hour [kWh] in the industry," noting, "We have come to a point where the cost versus benefit calculation for electrification is now almost positive. Battery technology has improved, costs are going down, and public acceptance of electrification is no longer a question."
With regard to Volvo's CMA platform, this technology is being developed as part of the China Euro Vehicle Technology (CEVT) joint venture (JV) with its Chinese sibling Geely under parent company Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. Earlier reports have highlighted the substantial amount of flexibility that will be designed into this platform, which will make it scalable for differing compact applications. Not only will this meet Volvo's own needs in the premium segment with a new crossover – known as the XC40 – and a replacement for the V40 hatchback, but it also supports Geely's plans to expand its global footprint, helping to generate further economies of scale. IHS Automotive expects that the first models on the market to use CMA will be a number of Geely sedans and crossovers from 2017, followed by Volvo's XC40 in 2018 and the replacement for the V40 in 2019. Vehicles underpinned by this technology will be built mainly in China and Belgium, where key Geely and Volvo sites are located. We forecast production of vehicles on this architecture hitting 545,000 units by the end of the decade. Of this total, Volvo's offerings will account for around 38%.
The CMA platform will also be key in helping to lift Volvo's global sales. The company is still targeting around 800,000 units per annum (upa). However, we anticipate that Volvo's annual global registrations by the end of this decade will stand at 683,000 units. Given the automaker's current expectations, this would mean its electrified offerings – both plug-in and fully electric vehicles – accounting for around 68,000 upa by this point. It now remains to be seen what this forthcoming fully electric model will be, although Autocar reports suggest that it will be a mid-size vehicle with a sport utility vehicle (SUV) bodystyle rather than a sedan, while unnamed executives have added that it will be "a long-range car, offering premium performance and rapid charging".
