Η Volvo, σύμφωνα με τον νέο CEO της Hakan Samuuelsson, δεν αναμένει να αυξήσει τις πωλήσεις της μέσα στο 2013. Ο Samuelsson δήλωσε ότι λόγω της οικονομικής ύφεσης στην Ευρώπη, η Volvo προσδοκά να πουλήσει μέσα στο 2013 κοντά στις 400.000 με 410.000 αυτοκίνητα.
Το 2011, η Volvo είχε πουλήσει 450.000 αυτοκίνητα, ενώ το 2020, θέλει να πουλά 800.000 μονάδες ετησίως. Η Volvo δεν θα προβεί σε δραστικά μέτρα εξορθολογισμού των δαπανών ούτε προχωρήσει σε περαιτέρω περιορισμό του ανθρώπινου δυναμικού, αφού πλέον η Volvo έχει ελάχιστους εποχικούς εργαζόμενους σε Σουηδία και Βέλγιο.
Στις σχετικές ειδήσεις, η Volvo θα συνεργαστεί με την Ericsson ώστε να ετοιμάζουν ένα νέο σύστημα ενημέρωσης και ψυχαγωγίας το οποίο θα διαθέτει τεχνολογία Cloud. Το σύστημα θα τοποθετηθεί στα μελλοντικά της αυτοκίνητα με τους χρήστες να έχουν πρόσβαση στο διαδίκτυο μέσω της συσκευής, κατεβάζοντας τραγούδια από διάφορες cloud υπηρεσίες όπως είναι το dropbox.
Τέλος η Volvo εγκαινίασε χθες (18/12) το νέο της ερευνητικό κέντρο οδικής ασφάλειας στο Πεκίνο.
[Πηγή: Reuters, Volvo]
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Volvo Car Group and Ericsson join forces to deliver global connected car services
Volvo Car Group (Volvo Cars) and Ericsson will jointly advance the technical development of industry-leading innovations for automotive internet services. Volvo Cars’ expertise in driver behavior and traffic security requirements, along with Ericsson’s consulting and systems integration expertise, will be used to define and select services.
- Connected Vehicle Cloud based on Ericsson’s Multiservice Delivery Platform will provide infotainment, apps and communication services in new Volvo cars
- Drivers and passengers will benefit from cloud-enabled services and applications
- Managed Services, Consulting and Systems Integration provided by Ericsson
Volvo Cars and Ericsson will work together to build the ecosystem around the connected car. The car has a natural role in the networked society and anyone who benefits from connecting to the car will have the possibility to do so. The solution covers all Volvo Cars markets around the globe and is run as a Managed Service by Ericsson.
“We clearly see that cars in the near future will integrate the same level of digital services that consumers today are used to have in their homes or at work. This is a strategically important part of Volvo Cars’ investments for the future where we intend to take a leading position,” said Lex Kerssemakers, Senior Vice President Product Strategy and Vehicle Line Management at Volvo Cars.
The driver will be able to download applications, create an on-line service booking and interact with partners through the Connected Vehicle Cloud built on Ericsson’s Service Enablement Platform.
“Ericsson is a perfect partner for Volvo Cars, bringing extensive experience and global technology understanding to the table. On top of this both companies share the same ambition to develop industry-leading solutions in line with our shared vision of the future based on a networked society,” said Lex Kerssemakers.
The partnership is focused on the rapid development of Volvo Cars’ stand-alone scalable product architecture (SPA). However, connected car services will roll out in all new Volvo cars beforehand in order to position Volvo Cars with industry-leading solutions and services.
Volvo Car Group research partner in newly opened Chinese-Swedish research centre for traffic safety
Representatives of Volvo Car Group (Volvo Cars) today attended the official inauguration of the China-Sweden Research Centre for Traffic Safety in Beijing, China. Volvo Cars has been actively involved in the establishment of the Research Centre, underlining the company’s long history in leading automobile safety research and innovation.
Apart from Volvo Cars, the other research partners in the project are Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Volvo Group, the Chinese Ministry of Transport’s Research Institute of Highway and Tongji University in Shanghai. The governments of Sweden and China will contribute to fund the Research Centre.
As China, the world’s largest car market, is rapidly transforming into a car society, traffic safety has emerged as an area of attention for both the Chinese government and the public. During the visit of then Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to Sweden in April 2012, the Swedish and Chinese governments signed a Letter of Intent proposing a research cooperation. This was followed by a Memorandum of Understanding in May 2012.
The Research Centre, with its main base in Beijing, focuses on a number of areas, such as improving traffic safety in Sweden and China and promoting the exchange of technology and knowledge between both countries. The Centre will furthermore focus on supporting government decision-making in matters of traffic safety and establishing a platform for research into traffic safety. Hans Nyth, currently director of the Volvo Cars Safety Centre, will assume a position as Director of the Research Centre starting Q1 2013.
Peter Mertens, Senior Vice President Research and Development at Volvo Car Group, commented: “Volvo Cars is very proud to be a partner in this project. We have a history of commitment to continuous traffic and vehicle safety improvement and we are a global market leader in this area. We invest considerable resources into constantly improving safety in our cars and have launched many industry innovations, the most recent example being the Pedestrian Airbag Technology in the all-new Volvo V40. I am therefore very pleased that we can once again showcase our global leadership in traffic safety through our involvement in this project.”
Volvo’s Safety Heritage
Volvo Cars has a long history of leading automobile safety research and innovation, exemplified by breakthroughs such as the three-point seat belts, the Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS), catalytic converters, airbags, ABS, child safety seats, and side-impact protection system. Recent innovative technologies include the City Safety System, Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake, and collision warning systems. It is fair to say that every single car in the world features one or another safety technology innovated by Volvo Cars.
Since the 1970s, Volvo has been conducting the world’s most advanced in-house traffic accident research at a centre in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo has built up a unique database containing information on over 40,000 accidents and has actively applied research results to car development.
In 2000, Volvo established the world’s most advanced car crash testing centre, the Volvo Cars Safety Centre, which is able to simulate various types of car crashes for developing crucial safety technologies.
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