UN recognises Volvo Cars’ electrification strategy

Volvo Cars has been recognised by the United Nations for its ground-breaking electrification strategy.

That comes in the latest report from the UN’s Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative.

The report, launched at the Global Compact’s annual high-level meeting in New York, focuses on the progress Global Compact members have made in supporting the delivery of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

It highlights 10 chief executives that have taken particularly bold and disruptive action, including Volvo Cars’ president and chief executive Håkan Samuelsson.
The Global Compact has also recognised Volvo Cars as a LEAD member, a group of the most committed, engaged and ambitious companies within the Global Compact. A founding member of the Global Compact, Volvo Cars is one of only 44 LEAD companies out of 9500 members – and one of only two car makers.

“We’re doing this because we think this is the right future for Volvo Cars, and that it will make us stronger. It’s sound business,” Samuelsson says in the UNGC report ‘Business Solutions to Sustainable Development’.

From 2019, every Volvo car launched will have an electric motor.
Volvo Cars will launch five fully electric vehicles between 2019 and 2021. Three of these cars will be Volvo models and two will be Polestar performance cars. They will be supplemented by a range of plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid options on all models.

“Volvo Cars is leading the way and we can see now that the automotive industry is waking up to its responsibilities,” Volvo Cars sustainability director Stuart Templar says.

Meanwhile, Volvo Cars has launched its XC40 small premium SUV in Milan, Italy.

That gives it three new globally available SUVs in the automotive market’s fastest growing segment.
The new XC40 is Volvo Cars’ first model on its new modular vehicle architecture (CMA) which will underpin all other upcoming 40 Series cars, including fully electrified vehicles, and will be the first Volvo with a new three-cylinder engine.

XC40s will also be available with a D4 diesel or a T5 petrol four-cylinder Drive-E powertrain.
Further powertrain options, including hybridised and pure electric, will be added later.

Safety and driver assistance features include the pilot assist system, city safety, run-off road protection and mitigation, cross traffic alert with brake support, and a 360-degree camera to help manoeuvring in tight parking situations. More functional storage space is provided in doors and under seats.

Production starts in Belgium in November, first models arriving in New Zealand early next year and in Australia during the second quarter 2018.