Volvo wants in on the EV Business, Starts Developing C30 DRIVe Electric with Fuel-Cell Range Extender

With even the likes of Porsche going green – not to mention the Chevrolet Volt or the Nissan Leaf, it's no surprise that Volvo wants a piece of the "Look at me, I'm saving the planet!" action.

They partnered up with Powercell Sweden AB (with backing from the Swedish Energy Agency) and hope that the Volvo C30 DRIVe Electric will be ready for testing on the road by 2012.

"This is an exciting expansion of our focus on electrification. Battery cost and size means that all-electric cars still have a relatively limited operating range. Fuel cells may be one way of extending the distance these cars can cover before they need to be recharged" Volvo Cars President and CEO Stefan Jacoby said. "What is more, the project gives us increased knowledge about fuel cells and hydrogen gas".

The project is in its early stages, the focus being on the range of the car. And it's no surprise, as no EV can stand a chance these days if it can't go at least 40-60 miles on one charge.

To achieve this, Volvo is cooking up -wait for it- a Range Extender. A reformer, tasked with breaking down liquid fuel and creating hydrogen gas. This gas then goes into the fuel cell and gets converted to electrical energy powering the motor.

The advantage of the process is that it's creating electricity without any emissions of carbon oxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur oxides (SOx) and particles whatsoever. On other thing is that the reformer can just as easily break down renewable fuels, like ethanol.

Volvo expects the Range Extender to, well, extend the range of the car by up to 250 kilometers (155 miles), in addition to the range provided by the battery pack.

By Csaba Daradics

Worldwide Recall for 2010-2011MY Volvo C30, S40 and V50

Volvo announced on Monday that it will recall 29,299 cars worldwide of which 536 were sold in the USA and around 6,700 in Britain, over a problem with the gearshift lever. The cars in question are certain 2010-2011MY C30s and 2010MY S40 and V50 models equipped with 6 speed manual transmissions.

According to the company, the gearshift lever stud assembly may not have been tightened to the correct specification during assembly which may lead to the ball-joint coming loose. If this occurs, it may not be possible to engage, disengage or shift gears.

Volvo said that its dealers will torque the gearshift lever stud assembly to the correct specification free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin this month. U.S. owners of the affected vehicles may contact Volvo at 1-800-458-1552 or customercare@volvoforlife.com for more information.

Volvo Unleashes New C30 STCC Racer [with Video]

Volvo and its motorsports partner Polestar will begin this year's Swedish Touring Car Championship (STCC) season on 24 April at Jyllandsringen in Denmark with an updated version of their ethanol-powered C30 racer based on the facelifted production model.

The new race car gets a revised front end which is longer, lower and wider, with the Swedish automaker claiming that the new design delivers a higher ground pressure at the front, and an improved airflow right around the vehicle.

"This is the fastest Volvo I've ever driven," says Volvo Polestar driver Robert Dahlgren.

"We've worked very hard to take full advantage of the new C30 facelift, spending countless hours in the wind tunnel at Volvo Cars in the process," says Jan Andersson, Technical Director of the Volvo Polestar team.

Volvo recently extended its agreement with Polestar right through to the end of the 2012 season.

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Volvo's Racing Partner Teases C30 Concept with AWD and 400HP

Volvo has teamed up with its racing partner 'Polestar Performance', which handles the firm's championship-winning Swedish Touring Car Team, to develop the C30 Performance Concept Prototype.

The idea behind the project is to create the ultimate C30 without being halted by specific race regulations. The concept includes a 400-horsepower engine, all-wheel-drive, and aerodynamics based on Polestar's race car data.

"We love the Volvo C30 - it's a great car with huge potential for development with its low weight and low centre of gravity. It's also a fantastic road car. But now we go much further by combining the road car with cutting edge racing technology," says Robert Dahlgren, race and development driver at Polestar.

The 400HP-strong C30 concept car will have its world premiere at the Gothenburg Motor Show on April 22.

Pure-Electric Volvo C30 to Debut at Detroit Show, Trial Runs Start in 2011

Volvo is the second automaker after BMW and its Concept ActiveE to announce the debut of a pure-electric model based on a production car at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show next January. And like BMW, Volvo plans to build a test fleet of at least 50 plug-in C30s, which will be used in real-life traffic from 2011.

The Swedes first showed us an electric C30 prototype in September 2009. Aside from being based on the facelift C30, the Detroit Show model has been further refined and now features both a complete interior and full instrumentation, as well as enhanced battery packaging.

"The first prototype helped us identify the main technological challenges, such as battery packaging and safety issues." said Lennart Stegland, Director of Volvo Cars Special Vehicles.

"We have addressed these challenges without compromising the C30's cool and fun-to-drive personality. I am very happy with the result. The electric C30 in Detroit is a much more complete product," Stegland concluded.

The latest plug-in C30 uses an electric motor fitted under the bonnet while the Lithium-Ion batteries (24 kWh) are installed in the propshaft tunnel and in the space normally occupied by the fuel tank, outside the passenger compartment and away from the deformations zones for safety reasons.

The Lithium-Ion batteries that can be recharged via either a regular household power socket or special roadside charging stations. The Swedes said that a full recharge takes about eight hours

The three-door hatchback has a top speed of about 130 km/h or 81 mph, while Volvo said that it can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (96km/h) in less than 11 seconds. The car's driving range is up to 150 km or 94 mile, which Volvo claims covers the daily transport needs of more than 90 percent of all motorists in Europe.

Aside from the special graphics, colors and wheels, the electric C30 looks no different on the outside than a regular C30 while inside, the most obvious changes concern the new trim, revised instrument panel and the new gear selector.

Conflict of Interest? Heico Sportiv Tunes the eco-friendly 2010 Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe

How much sense does it make to offer a performance package for an eco-friendly diesel car model that has been specifically designed to deliver maximum fuel efficiency and low CO2 emissions? Not much if you ask us but anyways... This here is Heico Sportiv's tuning package for the recently unveiled 2010 Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe.

In factory form, the new Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe is powered by a 1.6-liter diesel with 109HP and 240Nm of torque. Combined with a wide range of fuel saving technologies such as start/stop system with brake-energy recovery and aerodynamically optimized components, this C30 returns an average fuel economy of 3.9 liters/100 km or 60.3mpg US.

Heico Sportiv's package includes new software for the diesel unit's ECU that increases output to 125HP and 280Nm. As a result, the tuned C30 1.6D DRIVe sprints from standstill to 100 km/h in 9.2 seconds, beating the series-production model by 2.1 seconds while achieving a top speed of 200 km/h (124mph), 10 km/h more than the series version. The tuner did not release any fuel economy figures for the model.

Also available is a sport suspension that lowers the vehicle's ride height by about 30mm.

The Volvo tuning specialist gives the C30's exterior a new look with a front spoiler that replaces the original lower base section of the bumper and a rear apron with an integrated diffuser housing quad tailpipes. Five or ten-spoke alloy wheels in sizes 18- and 19-inch that are available in various colors complete the looks.

The interior can also be decked out with numerous applications in aluminum or leather, such as the door pin set, shift stick grip, parking brake handle, pedal set and foot rest.

Volvo Announces UK Pricing for 2010 C30 and C70 Facelift Models

Volvo has released pricing for the UK market 2010 model year C30 sport hatchback and C70 hardtop convertible that were both unveiled for the first time at last month's Frankfurt Motor Show. The facelifted C30 is available in four trim levels S, SE, SE Lux and R-DESIGN and a choice of six engines with prices starting from £14,495 OTR for the entry-level 100HP 1.6 S petrol model rising to £21,360 OTR for the 180HP D5 turbo-diesel in SE Lux guise.

All C30s come equipped with standard features such as ECC (Electronic Climate Control), Information Centre, power windows, a leather steering wheel and gear knob, floor mats, CD player and an Aux input and alloy wheels as well as DSTC (Dynamic Stability and Traction Control.

The revised 2010 C70 cabriolet is offered in three trim levels, S, SE and SE Lux, and a choice of four engines, including two diesels, the 136HP 2.0D and 180HP D5 and two petrol derivatives, the 170HP 2.4i and the 230HP T5. The C70 range kicks off at £25,995 for the base 2.0D S.

Standard features include ECC (Electronic Climate Control), alloy wheels, front fog lights, power windows, information centre, cruise control, floor mats and a Performance Sound Audio System.

Volvo said that both models will arrive in UK showrooms this December, with first customer deliveries expected to take place in January 2010.

Volvo Goes All-Electric with C30 BEV Prototypes

In addition to the market introduction of a diesel-electric plug-in hybrid in 2012 (details here), Volvo is also working on a pure electric model with the C30 BEV, which stands for 'Battery Electric Vehicle". The Swedish automaker has built a small number of prototype versions of the C30 BEV that will are to be tested internally by Volvo to evaluate the vehicle in real-life conditions with much of the focus being on the integration of the electric propulsion system with the rest of the car.

"The Volvo C30 is the first model we will try out with electric power. This car's excellent properties in city traffic and its relatively low weight make it particularly suitable, since electric cars are primarily expected to be used in and around cities and for daily commuting," says Lennart Stegland, Director of Volvo Cars Special Vehicles.

The C30 BEV is powered by an electric motor housed under the hood that drives the front wheel. Energy is provided by a 24kW Lithium-Ion battery that can be fully charged through a regular 230V household socket in about eight hours.

Volvo says that the all-electric C30 accelerates from 0 to 100km/h (62mph) in less than 11 seconds while the vehicle's top speed has been limited to around 130km/h (80mph). The car has a driving range of up to 150 kilometres or 93 miles, which Volvo claims is "longer and far better than the distance 90 percent of all Europe's motorists drive per day."

The Swedish automaker said that while the company's main focus over the next years will be plug-in hybrids, they will assess the viability of all-electric vehicles. According to the company, the are several factors that will determine the success or not of dedicated electric cars.

"The consumer must feel that this type of car is attractive both to drive and own," says Paul Gustavsson, Director of Electrification Strategy at Volvo Cars.

"In order to ensure this, we feel that electric cars will have to be as comfortable and safe and offer similar levels of performance as cars with other power sources. The learning from the C30 BEV project will help us to fulfill all these criteria and showcase Volvo's determination to drive developments in the field of electrification."

Frankfurt Show Galleries: Facelifted Volvo C70 Convertible and C30 Sport Hatch

In anticipation of the production version of the S60 Concept, Volvo used the Frankfurt Motor Show to introduce its refreshed C70 hardtop convertible and C30 sport hatchback. The most significant changes for the two models come up front as both receive a new fascia that takes its inspiration from the S60 Concept along with numerous other detailed but less important spec changes. Hit the jump for the live shots or click here to read more about the C70 Cabrio and here for the C30 hatch.

2010 Volvo C70

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2010 Volvo C30