2008 C70 Series Turbo 5 Cylinder Volvo Hard Top Convertible Garage Kept Leather on 2040-cars

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Volvo aiming for a stock IPO by the end of 2021

Volvo Cars is "making good progress" toward a potential initial public offering by the end of this year, the chief executive of the Swedish premium auto brand told Reuters on Wednesday. "We are looking at the possibility of doing an IPO before the end of the year," listing shares on the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange, company CEO Hakan Samuelsson said in an interview. Samuelsson and other Volvo executives on Wednesday laid out an extensive road map to becoming a fully electric car maker by 2030, including plans to sell 600,000 battery electric vehicles at mid-decade and build a European battery gigafactory in 2026. Volvo earlier this year scrapped a proposed merger with the company's Chinese parent, Hong Kong-listed Geely Automobile. In March, Geely said Volvo would explore capital market options, including an initial public offering and stock market listing. Many startups have gone public in the United States and China over the past two years, following electric vehicle market leader Tesla Inc in taking advantage of investor enthusiasm to raise cheap capital to compete with established brands such as Volvo. Samuelsson said Volvo and Geely will continue to share vehicle architectures, internal combustion powertrains and other components. But the companies will do so at "an arm's length distance," consistent with the way independent companies do business, he said. During Wednesday's briefing, Volvo also said it plans to equip many of its future vehicles with self-driving technology, including standard lidar sensors from Luminar Technologies Inc and computers from Nvidia Corp. "Our goal is to build the safest cars possible, using all available technology," Samuelsson said. As it launches new electric vehicles, Volvo also plans a slew of related products, including insurance and vehicle subscription payment plans offered directly by the automaker, Samuelsson said. "The whole vehicle business will be recurring revenue," Samuelsson said. In Europe, the company plans to change its retail operations so that customers order new electric vehicles directly from the manufacturer, with dealers paid commissions to deliver them, Samuelsson said. In the United States, where laws protect existing dealers, Volvo will still sell vehicles through franchised retailers. For its future electric vehicles, Volvo is working with Swedish partner Northvolt on a new generation of batteries with higher energy and designed to be packaged as a structural element of the vehicle.

Volvo S80 nip/tuck spotted in China

An early look at the new face of the Volvo S80 has made its way to the web. The Chinese site Auto Sina spotted a revised version of the country's S80L out in public and in plain view. Not too long ago, Doug Speck, the global head of marketing and sales for Volvo, said designers were working on a mild facelift for the S60 and S80, and while it is possible the Swedish manufacturer will roll out a different front fascia for the US market, the move seems unlikely.
The S80L seen here boats a tweaked grille and a Passat-inspired lower valance. New wheels and side-view mirrors also appear to be part of the update, as does a modified rear bumper and exhaust outlets. Volvo is set to debut the facelifed S80 next year, and while the manufacturer hasn't delivered an exact time frame, good money is on the vehicle showing up at the Detroit Auto Show in January or the Geneva Motor Show in March. Stay tuned for more information.

Volvo working on ultra-lux four-seat XC90 for China?

In China, it's all about being driven. That's why we've seen so many automakers stretch their most popular models to appeal to buyers in the Chinese market. Volvo is certainly no stranger to this, and according to Autocar, the company is already working on a super-lux, four-seat version of its recently launched XC90 crossover.
Volvo won't stretch the XC90 and just increase second-row legroom, however. Instead, the company will reportedly remove both the standard XC90's second and third row benches, and install a duplicate set of front seats in the rear compartment, featuring the same electric adjustment features, including massage. These more luxurious thrones will be placed further back in the vehicle, allowing for "exceptional" legroom, Autocar reports, without needing to stretch the wheelbase.
Mum's the word on when we can expect to see the high-zoot Volvo arrive, though the magazine estimates that it surface later this year.