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Volvo Car partners with Northvolt to develop and produce batteries

STOCKHOLM — Volvo Car Group, owned by China's Geely Holding, announced plans on Monday for a joint venture with Swedish battery maker Northvolt to develop sustainable batteries for its electric cars and set up a factory for production. The companies aim to set up a research and development center in Sweden to begin operations in 2022 and start a factory in Europe with a potential capacity to produce up to 50 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year in 2026. "Working closely with Northvolt will also allow us to strengthen our in-house development capabilities," said Hakan Samuelsson, chief executive at Volvo Car Group. Northvolt will become Volvo Cars' exclusive battery cell production partner in Europe. The factory will be powered by clean energy and is expected to employ around 3,000 people. The location of the plant has yet to be decided. Northvolt raised $2.75 billion in equity this month to expand capacity at the factory it is building in northern Sweden, and Volvo plans to source battery cells from that battery plant starting in 2024. German carmaker Volkswagen is Northvolt's biggest shareholder, and the battery maker has also got contracts worth billions from the likes of BMW and Scania. Battery makers are scrambling to keep up with demand as carmakers switch to electric in order to reduce planet-warming carbon emissions. Volvo Cars aims to sell 50% pure electric cars by the middle of this decade, and by 2030 it aims to sell only fully electric cars. Electric successor to Volvo's XC60 model will be the first car to feature battery cells developed through the joint venture.

Volvo will reportedly dive into the minivan segment in 2023

Volvo will expand its range by entering the minivan segment for the first time, according to a recent report. The automaker is allegedly plotting an electric people-mover that will be built and sold in China and that will share numerous parts beneath the sheetmetal with an existing model. The yet-unnamed minivan appeared on a slide shown during a presentation made by Volvo's Chinese division, according to CarNewsChina. It's one of four new models due out in 2023; the others are the EX90, the EX90 Excellence, and a small SUV that may wear the EX30 name. Volvo hasn't confirmed plans to wade into the minivan segment, let alone published details about the model, but CarNewsChina speculates that the enigmatic family-hauler will land as a brand-specific version of the Zeekr 009 (pictured). Don't worry if that doesn't ring a bell: Zeekr was founded in 2021 and it mainly sells cars in China. It's part of Geely, however, so it's one of Volvo's sister companies. Designers will give Volvo's first minivan Swedish flair inside and out in a bid to differentiate it from the 009, but the Geely-designed SEA architecture and the electric powertrain shouldn't change significantly. That means the model will land with a 544-horsepower dual-motor all-wheel-drive system. It will be fitted with a massive, 140-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack said to unlock over 500 miles of driving range. Volvo will present the van as a close-to-production concept in the third quarter of 2023, and the production model will go on sale in China before the end of the year, according to the report. It's too early to tell whether Volvo will export the van to other markets; the company hasn't commented on the rumor. Don't expect it to come cheap: Zeekr charges 499,000 yuan (around $74,000) for the entry-level 009.

Volvo Cars leaps 22% in IPO stock debut — a big endorsement for EVs

Volvo Cars CEO Hakan Samuelsson at the automakers' stock market opening bell on Friday in Stockholm. (Getty Images)   STOCKHOLM — Volvo Cars shares surged 22% on their Stockholm market debut on Friday after wrapping up Europe's biggest IPO of the year so far, in a boost for new issues markets and carmakers' vision of an electric future. The Gothenburg-based company cut the size of its listing and priced it at the bottom of a previously-announced range UPDATE 3-Volvo Cars gives itself $18 bln price tag as cuts IPO size - Reuters News on Monday, valuing it at just over $18 billion and making it Sweden's second largest listing yet. But the successful deal and strong market reaction — which propels the valuation to about $22 billion — is a lift for a European automotive industry that has embarked on a challenging transition towards electric vehicles (EVs). It also shows that while the euphoria over initial public offerings (IPO) in the first half of 2021 is over, the market is open for new listings of big companies with a story to tell. Volvo Cars Chief Executive Hakan Samuelsson said the listing showed a recognition of its transition plans, adding it would be key for Volvo to demonstrate it is on track to be the "fastest transformer." "There's a much bigger interest in the market to invest in electric car makers than in the conventional ones. So we better do what we said we would," he told Reuters in an interview. Shares in the carmaker, which is majority owned by China's Geely Holding, were trading at 64.70 Swedish crowns ($7.59) at 1057 GMT, after being priced at 53 crowns in the IPO. Polestar Apart from Volvo's commitment to becoming a purely electric carmaker by 2030, it also has a 49% stake in EV venture Polestar, which said in September it would go public through a $20 billion deal. Samuelsson said Polestar had a "good valuation." "They are already electric... showing in a way what the potential would be for Volvo if this (the transformation) is done in the right way." A source familiar with Volvo's transaction said the outcome of this week's IPO was good, even though investors had pushed back and forced Volvo to price at the bottom of the announced range. "The company had to compromise on size and the governance structure. They were hoping for a read across on Polestar, but they were clearly not getting that," the source said, requesting anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the press.