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2025 Volvo EX90 enters production after being delayed last year

After a delay of about eight months, Volvo's Ridgeville, South Carolina plant is now assembling the EX90 battery-electric SUV. Volvo's original plan was to get its new flagship in production toward the end of 2023 so that dealers might have models in showrooms early this year. There's also the reservation list, which filled so quickly that Volvo shut it down sooner than anticipated. However, after the car's November 2022 reveal, Volvo engineers confronted unexpected complexities with its software stack. In May 2023, the automaker officially delayed the start of production until the first half of this year. Part of the complexity was the brain in Volvo's EV push, the new VolvoCars.OS software platform running on a new "core computing" system developed with Nvidia and using the tech company's Drive Orin chips — the same chips Rivian uses for its new, streamlined electrical architecture in the Gen 2 R1 models. In Volvo's words, the core computing system "is made up of three main computers. These support each other in operating vision processing and artificial intelligence, general computing and infotainment respectively," this fundamental change in vehicle brain layout allowing the automaker "to gradually separate hardware from software. This means the company can introduce more frequent hardware cycles, so that new Volvo models can be equipped with the latest available hardware." Rowan said he believes the delay will ease the path for what's coming; the code written for the EX90 will see use elsewhere in the lineup, what the coders learning during this hiccup serving the automaker all the way through to an eventual transition to the Global Product Architecture that will succeed the EX90's SPA2 architecture. Back to the South Carolina plant, the first customer car off the line, done up in Denim Blue, will be delivered later this year. The plant's got more good news as well from the other vehicle it builds, the S60 sedan, with year-to-date sales up 255% compared to 2023. Related video: 2024 Volvo EX90 exterior and interior walkaround review

Volvo Cars sees flat or lower retail sales this year

STOCKHOLM — Volvo Cars flagged a potential dip in retail sales this year after posting higher second-quarter profits. Supply problems, above all a global shortage of semiconductors, have squeezed output and retail sales in recent quarters, but Volvo said it was seeing a "marked improvement" in the stabilization of its supply chain. The Sweden-based carmaker said on Wednesday it expected full year retail deliveries to be lower or on par with 2021, while wholesale volumes will increase. "However, due to the time lag between production and retail deliveries, those improvements are not expected to result in an increase in retail sales during the calendar year," the company said. Volvo Chief Executive Jim Rowan said the company would "keep an eye on" consumer sentiment, not least due to higher inflation. "But right now demand is very strong," he said. Volvo's quarterly operating profit rose to 10.8 billion Swedish crowns ($1.06 billion) from 4.8 billion a year ago as accounting effects from the listing of high-performance automaker Polestar gave a boost. Operating earnings for the core business at Volvo Cars, majority owned by China's Geely Holding, reached 4.6 billion in the quarter. "Volvo reported a solid set of Q2 results in the light of multiple hurdles including semiconductor constraints and impact of Chinese lockdowns on demand," investment bank JPMorgan said in a note. Volvo has been a strong performer in recent years and recorded 2021 earnings that surpassed pre-pandemic levels. 

Ward's announces 10 Best Engines 2015

Ward's Auto has named its 10 Best Engines for 2015, covering a range of powerplants from fuel-sippers to fire-breathers. As with past years, forced-induction reigns supreme, with seven of the ten engines featuring a turbo or supercharger. This year is slightly different, though, as two of the seven blown engines are turbocharged three-cylinder mills, from the Ford Fiesta and Mini Cooper. They're joined by the 2.0-liter turbo four from the Volvo S60, the 1.8-liter turbo four from the Volkswagen Jetta and the 2.0-liter boxer from the Subaru WRX. BMW and Chrysler were the only marques to be named to this year's list twice, with the electric motor from the i3 joining the Mini's three-pot, and the 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 in the Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee repping the diesel crowd, alongside a certain supercharged monster. Hyundai also took a prize with a zero-emissions powertrain, with the Tucson FCV's 100-kilowatt fuel cell making the list (apparently Ward's is quite generous with what it deems an "engine"). Rounding out the list are two Autoblog favorites, each displacing 6.2 liters, but producing their power very differently. On the one hand, Chevrolet's overhead-valve, 455-horsepower V8, found in the Corvette, makes its power the old fashioned way. And in the other corner, we have one of the most exciting engines of the year – the 707-hp, 6.2-liter, supercharged Hellcat V8, featured so prominently in the Dodge Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcat. "We spend a lot of time reading the powertrain tea leaves throughout the auto industry, and we're proud that this year's list is a microcosm of all the latest innovation coming from automakers," said Ward's Editor-in-Chief Drew Winter in a statement. "It's not just a list for enthusiasts or for environmentalists," he says. "There's something for every vehicle shopper and every budget. All the powertrains on this list deliver a first-rate driving experience," Winter added. Scroll down for the full list from Ward's, and let us know which engines you think belong and which should have been included in this year's rankings. Ward's 10 Best Engines of 2015 Announced by Penton's WardsAuto Honorees span most diverse and technically advanced engines in 21 years of recognized powertrain excellence SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Dec. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Penton's Wards 10 Best Engines of 2015 have been announced.