Volvo, once known for making safe and boring family cars, is now wrapping its brand identity around fuel efficiency. At the core of its plans is a new family of very efficient four-cylinder engines, production of which has just started at Volvo Car Group's engine plant in Skövde.
"This marks a milestone in Volvo Cars' history. With our new engine family we are focusing on two additional vital properties - driving pleasure and fuel efficiency," says Derek Crabb, Vice President Powertrain Engineering.
Volvo's engineers have developed these engines to be as powerful as the current six-cylinder units, yet also a lot more fuel efficient. The four-bangers will have both diesel and petrol forms and will be available in Volvo's cars starting this autumn.
The first variants will be fitted to the Volvo S60, V60, XC60, V70, XC70 and S80 in autumn 2013. Rumors suggest that even the mighty XC90 will have four-cylinder engines when a new generation hits the market in a couple of years.
"During the development of VEA the starting point was our customers and what we wanted to offer them in regard to good fuel economy, low environmental impact and immense driving pleasure at an attractive price. At the same time, however, it's also about the fact that Volvo Cars gets a sound basis for developing future-generation technologies featuring fuel economy of absolute world class," says Derek Crabb.
Volvo's engineers have developed these engines to be as powerful as the current six-cylinder units, yet also a lot more fuel efficient. The four-bangers will have both diesel and petrol forms and will be available in Volvo's cars starting this autumn.
The first variants will be fitted to the Volvo S60, V60, XC60, V70, XC70 and S80 in autumn 2013. Rumors suggest that even the mighty XC90 will have four-cylinder engines when a new generation hits the market in a couple of years.
"During the development of VEA the starting point was our customers and what we wanted to offer them in regard to good fuel economy, low environmental impact and immense driving pleasure at an attractive price. At the same time, however, it's also about the fact that Volvo Cars gets a sound basis for developing future-generation technologies featuring fuel economy of absolute world class," says Derek Crabb.