Editor and translator: Marius-Constantin Popa
TRANSLATIONS
VOLUME4*ISSUERELEASEDINFEBRUARY2019
Over90yearsofVolvoCars
(1927-2017)
AUTOMOTIVE
VOLVO CARS CELEBRATED
ITS 90TH BIRTHDAY
The Swedish premium carmaker Volvo Cars celebrated in April 2017 its 90-year his-
tory by starting the production of its new medium-sized XC60 SUV at the plant situ-
ated in Gothenburg, Sweden. The production of the new XC60 model marked nine
decades since the first Volvo car, the ÖV4, had been launched on 14th April 1927.
The first Volvo model sold a total of 275 vehicles in its lifetime, a sales volume that
was modest even in those days. The new XC60 replaced one of the best-selling
models that the manufacturer produced throughout its 90th history.
Thefirst-generationXC60becameaphenomenonwithclimbingsaleseveryyear
sinceithadbeenintroducedin2008.Sevenyearssincethemomentofitslaunch,it
wasdeclaredthebest-sellingpremium medium-sizedSUVinEuropeanditwasstill
thebestsellerafternineyearssinceithadgoneintoproduction.Thefirst-generationXC60
represented,attheendofitscareer,around30percentofthetotalglobalsales(more
than960,000cars)reachedbythemanufacturer.Thesecond-generationXC60isoneofthe
safestcarsthathavebeenevermadeandisequippedwiththelatesttechnologyinterms
ofsafety,includingthenew OncomingLaneMitigationsystem,whichusesasteerassist
tohelpmitigatehead-oncollisions.Thenewmodelisalsoavailablewithoptionssuchas
thesemi-autonomousdriverassistancesystem,PilotAssist,whichtakescareofsteering,
accelerationandbrakingonwell-markedroadsupto130kph.
ThefounderofVolvo,AssarGabrielsson,sawanopportunityforcarmanufacturing
inSwedenafterhavingobservedthegrowingautomotiveindustriesoftheUnitedStates
andEuropefrom hispositionwithinsalesattheSwedishballbearingmakerSKF,asup-
pliertothecarindustry.PointingtowardsthetrumpcardsheldbySweden(readilyaccess-
iblesteel,cheaplabourandskilledengineers),hemanagedtopersuadetheSKFmanage-
menttoinvestinacarbusinessthatwasinitiallycalledABVolvo.Thefirstmass-produced
Swedishcarwasquiteaconventionalvehicle,featuringelementsborrowedfrom Amer-
icancardesign:awoodenframemadeofashtreeandbeech,a1.9-litreside-valveengine
andwheelswithwoodenspokes.Onlyonecolourcombinationwasavailable:darkblue
withblackwings.Despiteallthechangesmadeoverthelastninedecades,onethinghas
remainedthesame,namelythecommitmentmadebythecompanytobuildthesafest
carsintheworld.
REFERENCES:https://bit.ly/2VAXHFR,https://bit.ly/2pD0fG2
FEBRUARY2019|TRANSLATIONS 3
AUTOMOTIVE
VOLVO XC60 WAS THE SAFEST CAR
TESTED IN 2017 BY EURONCAP
The year 2017 was certainly the most intense one in the history of the automotive
safety organisation European New Car Assessment Programme (EuroNCAP), its ex-
perts having to carry out crash tests for no less than 70 different cars.
Asusual,EuroNCAPchoseits‘favouritecar’,whichisactuallythemodelthatmadeit-
selfconspicuousastheoverallsafestcarfrom thoseinvolvedincrashtestsessions
duringacertainyear,andtheresultshouldnotsurpriseanyonebecauseitconcerns
aVolvomodel,namelythesecond-generationXC60crossover.TheSwedishcarmanufac-
turerhasalwayshadanenviablereputationwithregardtosafety,andthenewXC60con-
The second-generation Volvo XC60, the safest SUV tested in 2017
tinuedthetradition,scoringnear-perfectratingsintwocategories:98percentforadult
occupantsand95percentforsafetyassistancesystems.Wemustnotforget,however,that
Volvohaspromisedforsometimethatnobodywouldbekilledorseriouslyinjuredina
new Volvocarby2020,accordingtoMalinEkholm,VicePresidentofVolvoCarsSafety
Centre.
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AUTOMOTIVE
VolvoisalsothefirstcarmakertofillandholdalltopthreerankingsinEuroNCAP’s
AutonomousEmergencyBraking(AEB)tests–AEBCity,AEBInter-UrbanandAEBPedes-
trian,notonlywiththeXC60,butalsowiththeXC90,S90andV90.ThethreeVolvomodels
The second-generation Volvo XC60 cockpit
aretheonlyonestohaveachievedperfectscoresinallthreeAEBcategories.Inaddition,
theautomotivesafetyorganisationalsopublisheditscompletecategory-basedlistforthe
year2017,‘BestinClass’,wheretheXC60wasfoundtogetherwiththeVolkswagenPolo,T-
RocandArteon,theSubaruImprezzaandXV,butalsotheOpelCrosslandXandtheVaux-
hallCrosslandX.
REFERENCES:
1. https://www.amsonline.ro/volvo-xc60-este-cel-mai-sigur-automobil-din-2017-conform-
euro-ncap/
2.https://www.media.volvocars.com/global/en-gb/media/pressreleases/218916/volvo-xc60-
is-2017s-overall-safest-car-in-euro-ncap-testing
FEBRUARY2019|TRANSLATIONS 5
AUTOMOTIVE
VOLVO CARS LAUNCHED THE NEW XC60
AT THE GENEVA MOTOR SHOW
Volvo Cars, the premium carmaker, launched on 7th March 2017 its long-awaited
SUV model, namely the XC60, at the International Geneva Motor Show. The new
model replaced the first-generation XC60, which had become—over the nine years
since its launch – the best-selling premium medium-sized SUV in Europe with al-
most 1,000,000 units sold worldwide. Nowadays, the XC60 represents around 30
per cent of the total global sales of Volvo.
AccordingtoHåkanSamuelsson,PresidentandChiefExecutive,VolvoCarGroup,the
carmanufacturerbasedinNorthernEurope,hasastrongheritageindesigningstyl-
ishanddynamicSUVsofferingstate-of-the-arttechnology.Thenew XC60isnoex-
ception.Itistheperfectcarforanactivelifestyle,representingthenewstepinthetrans-
formationplanconceivedbythemanufacturer.
New technology centred on comfort and safety
Thenew XC60,oneofthesafestcarsthathavebeenevermade,isfullyequippedwith
state-of-the-arttechnology.TheSteerAssistfunctionhasbeenaddedtotherevolutionary
CitySafetySystem,anewSafetySystem calledOncomingLaneMitigationusessteerassist
tomitigatepossiblehead-oncollisions,whiletheBlindSpotIndicationSystem (BLIS)now
usestheSteerAssistfunctionalityinordertoreducetheriskoflane-changingcollisions.
HenrikGreen,SeniorVicePresidentProduct&QualityatVolvoCarGroup,saidthatthe
focusofhisteam wasonbuildingamodelthatcandeliverpleasuretoallsenses,from the
drivingexperiencetotheridingpleasureandsafety,everythingbeingofferedtothecus-
tomer.Particularattentionwaspaidtomakinglifeeasierforcustomersbyproviding
them withcomfortandservicesthattakethehassleoutofeverydaylife.PilotAssist,the
advancedsemi-autonomousdriverassistancesystem,whichtakescareofsteering,accel-
erationandbrakingonwell-markedroadsupto130kph,isavailableintheXC60asanop-
tion.
Performance
ThenewXC60isequippedwiththeaward-winningT8TwinEnginepetrolplug-inhybrid,
aleaderinthepowertrainrange,delivering407HPandaccelerationfrom 0to100kphin
just5.3seconds.AccordingtothesameHenrikGreen,thereisawiderangeofpower
trains.ThenewXC60waslaunchedwiththeD4dieselengineat190HPandtheD5diesel
enginewith PowerPulsetechnologydelivering235HP.Thenew modelcan bealso
6 TRANSLATIONS|FEBRUARY2019
AUTOMOTIVE
equippedwiththepetrol-poweredT5enginedelivering254HP,aswellastheT6,which
delivers320HPand400Nm oftorque.However,thenewXC60delivershealthyperform-
ancenotjustunderthebonnet.Thenew ClearZonefour-zoneclimatesystem removes
harmfulpollutantsandparticlesfrom outsidethecabintodeliverScandinavian-freshair
ontheinside.
Thedriverinfotainmentsystem andconnectedservices,SensusandVolvoOnCall
applications,bothreceiveagraphicalupdatewithimprovedusability.Asinthe90Series
models,smartphoneintegrationwithCarPlayandAndroidAutoisalsoavailable.
Sculpted feel
AccordingtoThomasIngenlath,SeniorVicePresident,DesignatVolvoCarGroup,the
XC60hasnotbeendesignedtolookdownonothers,buttodrive.Theexteriorhasanath-
leticsculpturewithasubtle,timelessquality.Theinteriorrepresentsamasterfulcompos-
The second-generation Volvo XC60
itionofwell-resolvedarchitecture,beautifulmaterialsandstate-of-the-arttechnologies—
allperfectlyblendedtogether.TheXC60providesatrueScandinavianexperiencewhich
makecustomersfeelspecial.
REFERENCES:
1.https://www.amsonline.ro/volvo-cars-lanseaza-noul-xc60-la-salonul-auto-international-
din-geneva/
2.https://www.media.volvocars.com/global/en-gb/media/pressreleases/204954/volvo-cars-
reveals-new-xc60-premium-suv
FEBRUARY2019|TRANSLATIONS 7
AUTOMOTIVE
THE PRODUCTION OF THE
NEW VOLVO XC60 MODEL
The production of the new XC60 medium-sized SUV started on 26th April 2017 at the
company-owned Torslanda factory in Sweden. The new model replaced the highly-
successful original XC60, which had become, over the nine years since its launch,
the best selling premium medium-sized SUV in Europe, with nearly 1 million units
sold worldwide. The XC60 today represents around 30 per cent of the total global
sales of the company.
AccordingtoMagnusNilsson,vicepresidentoftheplant,itwasaprouddayfor
everyoneattheplant.Theentireteam hadworkedhardovertheseveralmonthsbe-
forethestartoftheproductioninordertopreparetheplantforthelatestnewVolvo
modelandstartdeliveringittocustomers.TheXC60isthefourthmodelbasedonthein-
house-developedSPAvehiclearchitecture,followingtheintroductionofthe90Seriesof
flagshipmodelsinrecentyears.TheSPA-relatedinvestmentsinSwedenhavehadpositive
effectsonemploymentatthecompany,asthousandsofnewjobshavebeenaddedinpro-
duction,research&developmentandotherareas.
ThenewXC60,oneofthesafestcarseverproduced,isfullyloadedwithnewtech-
nology.SteerAssisthasbeenaddedtotherevolutionaryCitySafetysystem.Anewsafety
system calledOncomingLaneMitigationusessteerassisttohelpmitigatehead-oncolli-
sions,whiletheBlindSpotIndicationSystem (BLIS)nowusestheSteerAssistfunctional-
ityforreducingtheriskoflane-changingcollisions.PilotAssist,theadvancedsemi-
autonomousdriverassistancesystem,whichtakescareofsteering,accelerationandbrak-
ingonwell-markedroadsupto130kph,isavailableintheSUVmodelasanoption.
Thenew modelofferstheaward-winningT8TwinEnginepetrolplug-inhybridat
thetopofthepowertrainrange,delivering407HPandaccelerationfrom 0to100kphin
just5.3seconds.ThenewXC60doesnotdeliver,however,healthyperformancejustunder
thebonnet.ThenewClearZonefour-zoneclimatesystem removesharmfulpollutantsand
particlesfrom outsidethecabintodeliverScandinavian-freshairontheinside.Thedriver
infotainmentsystem andconnectedservices,SensusandVolvoOnCallapplication,both
receiveagraphicalupdatewithimprovedusability.Asinthe90Seriesmodels,smart-
phoneintegrationwithCarPlayandAndroidAutoisalsoavailable.
REFERENCES:
https://www.media.volvocars.com/global/en-gb/media/pressreleases/207630/the-first-new-
volvo-xc60-rolls-off-the-production-line-in-torslanda-sweden
8 TRANSLATIONS|FEBRUARY2019