During the press reveal of the Volvo V60 earlier this week, Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson and his colleagues took the time to answer some questions concerning the future of the Swedish brand. Road & Track jotted down some of the interesting bits from this.
End of the road for Gas Engines
Volvo made a surprising announcement last year with plans to electrify their entire lineup beginning in 2019. This includes mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrids, and electric vehicles. It seems this plan will also mark the end of development of gas engines. The current line of turbo and twin-charged engines represent the last new gas engines from the brand. Instead, Volvo will add more powerful electric motors to boost overall power. Down the road, Volvo hopes to follow Polestar by only offering pure EVs.
Next-Gen SPA Platform to Lose Weight
Volvo's current SPA modular platform isn't what you would call light. The V90 wagon can weigh as much as 4,561 pounds. The next-generation SPA platform, due out in 2021 will shed some weight.
More Polestar Tuned Volvos Are Coming
When Polestar was spun off to be its own brand, there were a number of people worried that it was end of the line for models like the S60/V60 Polestar. Not so according to Road & Track. A team of Polestar engineers will continue to operate in Sweden while the rest of the company sets up shop in China. They'll be tasked with making the next-generation Volvo models go fast and handle. No mention of when to expect new Polestar models or what they'll be based on.
Other tidbits,
- The next-generation S60 sedan will begin rolling off the company's new Charleston, South Carolina assembly plant towards the end of this year. We're expecting to see Volvo debut the new model sometime before then, possibly the late summer or early fall.
- Volvo will also be conducting more design and R&D work in the U.S. This is partly due to the U.S. playing a crucial role in Volvo's future plans.
- The next-generation Sensus infotainment system, due in 2019, will be based on Google's Android smartphone OS. We hope this means a simpler user interface.
Source: Road & Track
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