1993 Volvo 240 Base Sedan 4-door 2.3l on 2040-cars

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Volvo Concept Recharge full of sustainable materials

In June, Volvo showed us the conceptual exterior of its future vision in a swoopy wagon-like package called the Concept Recharge. The Swedes are now ready to show us the vision's interior and tell us what it's made of, calling it "a manifesto for Volvo Cars' future." With the context being Volvo's aim of selling only EVs by 2030 and being carbon neutral by 2040, the battery-electric Concept Recharge is a way for the automaker to get there and look stylish while doing it. It starts and nearly ends with employing sustainable, recyclable materials everywhere. Outside, the front and rear bumpers and the rocker panels are fashioned from flax composite. Only six percent of the materials in the specially developed Pirelli tires come from fossil resources, the rest from recycled and renewable materials like natural rubber, bio-silica, rayon and bio-resin. Every aspect of the bodywork has been shaped to increase aerodynamic efficiency, from the wheel design to the compact, upright rear end. Efficiency will also be a key development for the batteries. Volvo hasn't mentioned those yet in regard to the concept, but we know the company doesn't simply want to add more cells to increase range, since that adds weight and increases a vehicle's carbon footprint. Volvo is working with Swedish firm Northvolt on more energy-dense battery packs with shorter charging times. Inside, the Concept Recharge takes an evolutionary leap from the sustainable cabin now available in the C40 Recharge. The seat backrest and top of the instrument panel are dressed in "responsibly sourced Swedish wool" woven into a breathable, additive-free cloth. The seat bolsters and door panels areas that will see a lot of contact are covered in Tencel, a soft-touch yet durable cellulose fiber product. The floor and lower doors are wrapped in 100% wool. The seatbacks, the fronts of the headrests, and part of the steering wheel are covered in a material Volvo developed called Nordico. The company's being secretive about the composition, only telling us that Nordico's been created out of recyclable ingredients found in sustainable forests. And flax composite shows up again inside in the storage pockets, the back of the headrest, and the footrests. The automaker says that if the Concept Recharge's battery is charged using renewable energy, it would contribute less than 10 metric tons of CO2 over the wagon's lifespan. The U.S.

How Volvo is going greener, according to sustainability chief Henrik Green

STOCKHOLM — This week, Volvo unveiled its new flagship electric vehicle, the EX90 three-row SUV. ItÂ’s not just a look at a product weÂ’ll see come to market in 2024, but a glimpse at the approach Volvo is taking to become more sustainable as it aims to go all-electric by 2030 and carbon-neutral by 2040. After the unveiling of the EX90, we had the opportunity to speak with Henrik Green, VolvoÂ’s advanced technology and sustainability officer, as part of a roundtable discussion about the brandÂ’s climate strategy moving forward. Part of the strategy is accountability and transparency. In an industry where sensitive materials like cobalt and lithium can be environmentally, socially and geopolitically problematic, traceability is paramount. Volvo will use blockchain technology — the same sort of secure ledger tech that makes cryptocurrency possible — to trace cobalt, lithium and nickel from their very origins in the earth all the way to the EX90s that roll off the factory floor. Green said he expects that traceability to expand to more materials, but those three are what Volvo can commit to today. Green also predicts a time when “you as a consumer should be able to see, ‘Here, in my app, this is the car I bought, this is where my nickel came from thatÂ’s in my car.’” While step one is improving transparency, “the next step is — this is much more long-term — how can we affect the industry to source from the most sustainable sources as possible?” And that leads us to recycling. A circular economy is the goal, where raw materials are used minimally, replaced by materials sourced from old cars, batteries, electronics and the like. But that depends on the first generations of electric cars fulfilling their lifecycles before they can be recycled. And obviously the better the longevity of products like batteries, the longer this will take. “Unfortunately, it has this built-in time lag of putting batteries out there that live until they need to be replaced, and then we will get the material back.” Partners are beginning to scout for those recyclable materials from sources like non-automotive electronics, “but the massive volume of car batteries will not be accessible until these cars have been on the road 10, 15 or more years.” But recyclability is one of the main factors Volvo looks for when partnering with companies like Northvolt, with whom Volvo is building a factory and R&D center in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Volvo confirms V60 Sportswagon engine lineup for US

In addition to revamping its entire 2014 lineup, Volvo has already promised us that we'll be getting the V60 wagon early next year, but now the Swedish automaker has confirmed that sexy wagon will go on sale in January. If that's not good enough for you diehard station wagon models, there's even better news: An available R-Design model will be the "fastest and most powerful wagon in Volvo history."
The V60 R-Design will have a turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine under the hood producing 325 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque. Other engines available in the wagon will include the company's well-regarded turbo inline-five along with a new turbo inline-four wearing the Drive-E name. Volvo says Drive-E can "offer the opportunity" to add electrification, but there's no word as to whether or not the US will receive a V60 plug-in model. Also not yet released are fuel economy, vehicle specs and pricing. More information about the V60 and its powertrains are available in the official press release posted below.