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Geely targeting US market in 2016 with help from Volvo

Following reports that it'd team up with corporate sibling Volvo on a Chinese-market car comes a report from Bloomberg that Geely would reattempt its entry into the US market. The Chinese brand had a display at the 2006 North American International Auto Show, but has been absent from the US scene ever since.
The Geely branded cars will be jointly developed with Volvo, and bank on the Swedish manufacturers reputation for safety and reliability. Geely's CEO, Gui Shengyue, explained, "Our acquisition of Volvo enhanced our image and overseas consumers are seeing us as an international company." This represents a change in rhetoric for the brand, after Geely Chairman Li Shufu hamstrung the idea of a closer pairing, citing fears that an association would harm Volvo's reputation. The news of projects between Geely and Volvo first broke last week, although it's unclear if the cars that end up coming to the US will be the same as those being sold in China.
As we reported last week, Geely is already aiming to be the biggest brand in the Chinese domestic market. With this move to the US market, it's also attempting to overtake Chery as China's largest automotive exporter. According to the Bloomberg report, Geely has already moved 180,000 units overseas, which is extremely close to the 184,800 vehicles sold by Chery in 2012. By 2018, Geely anticipates that 60 percent of its sales will be occur outside of the PRC.

Volvo to go all electric by 2030, hastening internal combustion's death

LONDON — VolvoÂ’s entire car lineup will be fully electric by 2030, the Chinese-owned Swedish company said on Tuesday, joining a growing number of carmakers planning to phase out fossil-fuel engines by the end of this decade.   “I am totally convinced there will be no customers who really want to stay with a petrol engine,” Volvo Chief Executive Hakan Samuelsson told reporters when asked about future demand for electric vehicles. “We are convinced that an electric car is more attractive for customers.” The Swedish carmaker said 50% of its global sales should be fully-electric cars by 2025 and the other half hybrid models. Owned by Hangzhou-based Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Volvo will launch a new family of electric cars in the next few years, all of which will be sold online only. Volvo will unveil its second all-electric model, the C40, later on Tuesday. Samuelsson said Volvo will include wireless upgrades and fixes for its new electric models — an approach pioneered by electric carmaker Tesla Inc. Carmakers are racing to switch to zero-emission models as they face CO2 emissions targets in Europe and China, plus looming bans in some countries on fossil fuel vehicles. Last month, Ford said its lineup in Europe will be fully electric by 2030, while Tata Motors unit Jaguar Land Rover said its luxury Jaguar brand will be entirely electric by 2025 and the carmaker will launch electric models of its entire lineup by 2030. And last November, luxury carmaker Bentley, owned by GermanyÂ’s Volkswagen, said its models would be all electric by 2030. Electrification is expensive for carmakers, and as electric vehicles have fewer moving parts, auto employment is expected to shrink.    Volvo CEO Samuelsson said that industrywide, electrification will mostly affect engine plants and auto suppliers providing everything from oil filters to fuel injectors and spark plugs. “Those are a lot of jobs of course,” he said. “But overall I donÂ’t think there will be a big difference.” Volvo said it will “radically reduce” the complexity of its model line-up and provide customers with transparent pricing. The carmakerÂ’s global network of 2,400 traditional bricks-and-mortar dealers will remain open to service vehicles and to help customers make online orders.

Volvo V40 Cross Country gets the all-wheel drive it deserves

Want a rugged Volvo wagon? Gothenburg has two kinds to offer: there's the XC crossovers on the one hand and ruggedized wagons on the other. As we reported last month from the unveiling of the new XC90 in Sweden, Volvo plans on offering more Cross Country wagons in the future. But in the meantime, it has upgraded the existing V40 Cross Country with some key enhancements - not the least of which is the long-awaited addition of all-wheel drive.
Powertrain upgrades for Volvo's smallest soft-roader include the new T5 engine (a 1.7-liter turbo four producing 245 horsepower), an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. The new powertrain is not only more capable, but also more environmentally friendly than the old T5 it replaces.
The enhanced V40 Cross Country launches in Europe mid-fall before being rolled out in other markets in the following months, but unfortunately the United States is not among them as the V40 is not offered Stateside in any configuration, which is a shame.