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Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid

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volvo_V60_plugin.jpg

Credit for this Picture goes to Volvo Cars and carsuk.net.

I couldn’t find a thread on this particular model… Anyways, it looks like Volvo Cars might have a small hit (?) in Europe with their V60 Plug-in Hybrid:

Volvo doubling V60 diesel PHEV production to 10,000 to meet demand

...a car that apparently costs about $80.000.

It’s just too bad that Volvo Cars currently, as I understand it, in reality is in fact owned by the very, very undemocratic Chinese dictatorial ‘government’. Which in turn of course, really, really sucks for someone (like me for example) with a Swedish citizenship...

---Update: Added picture.
 
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Discussion continued from the ”Model S Wagon?” thread here:

Model S Wagon? - Page 8

The complete quote:

geely. is a privately held company wih little to no government influence. as long as they build cars and automotive products..... I would dare say Volvo was more influenced by the Swedish government before than by the Chinese government now....... and certainly less influenced than it would have been if sold to Renault a few years back, where the French government has a large stake and say in the company.

so don't worry too much being a Swedish citizen and all.... so am I. :)

…and my argument for argument answer:

geely. is a privately held company with little to no government influence./...

According to this article in the Swedish newspaper "Svenska Dagbladet" (The Swedish Daily Paper(?):wink:) that is a false statement:

I industriklenodens innersta maktrum | SvD

The ownerhip structure behind Volvo Cars (not to be mixed up with Volvo Group (Trucks, Buses, Construction Equipment et. al.)) was apparently secret until the the EIB (the European Investment Bank) demanded to be presented with this ownership structure since they were about to grant Volvo Cars a considerable loan. According to this article (and using the EIB as the source) the owners are:

Geely Holding Group owned by Li Shufu: 51%

The Daqing investementfund: 37% (This is one branch of the Chinese 'gov.')

An industrial area outside Shanghai: 12% (This is another branch of the Chinese 'gov.')

So it might seem that Geely Holding Group holds a miniscule majority post. However, out of the little more than 6 billion SEK (Swedish currency) Geely Holding Group paid Ford for this 51% share, ‘only’ 1,5 billion SEK of this money actually came from Geely Holiding Group. 1,5 billion SEK at a 10-15% interest rate came from Ford through some kind of sellers promissory note (if that’s the correct English term…) AND, the remaining 3 billion SEK Geely/Li Shufu had to borrow through banks owned by the Chinese government. The loan from Ford has since been repaid by more loans through banks owned by the Chinese government. Hence: Volvo Cars is currently, as I understand it, in reality in fact owned by the very, very undemocratic Chinese dictatorial ‘government’.

And to make things even worse, according to another article in the same paper:

Halva Geelys vinst kommer från bidrag | SvD

…which in turn references an article in the Economist about a study by a company called Fathom China, 51% of Geely Automobiles profit in 2011 was apparently an allowance from the Chinese ‘government’…

.../as long as they build cars and automotive products..... I would dare say Volvo was more influenced by the Swedish government before than by the Chinese government now....... and certainly less influenced than it would have been if sold to Renault a few years back, where the French government has a large stake and say in the company./...

Assuming you’re right about your claim about the Swedish government, which I can’t really comment on, I would still fail to see the problem in these two scenarios. Both the Swedish and the French governments are put in place through democratic elections, and neither commits human right’s abuses on a massive scale. Sure, the French government probably would have favoured the French Automotive industry just like one might argue that Ford favoured their American brands over Volvo, and GM favoured their American brands, Holden and Opel over SAAB. But, as you also write, the deal with Renault that fell trough was a few years ago. In fact, correct me if I’m wrong, but as I recall, it even happened before Ford bought Volvo Cars. So that’s quite some time ago… And also, the favouring problem might also still persist with the Chinese government as the de facto owner… It’s probably even rather likely…

--- Updated:

And also: I’m guessing that if Li Shufu for some reason makes a sufficiently large mistake in the eyes of the powers that be, then that could quite possibly mean the last sunlight he’ll see for a very long time. …Or, even the last sunlight he ever saw…
 
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In this post I originally erroneously stated that the V60 Plug-in Hybrid would be available in the US in early 2014. And then based on that erroneous statement I asked a kind of (by now) hypothetical question whether or not the V60 Plug-in Hybrid would be the safest plug-in hybrid in the US once available…


Additional source:
Volvo V60 Hybrid | Euro NCAP - For safer cars crash test safety rating
 
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Interesting choice of words. I guess if it's going to hit some stores, it's good that it will be safe while doing so.
Shores dude, shores :)

Still intersting wording when cojoined with safety claims.

Since I quoted Left Lane News, I can’t really think of a way to turn that into something funny… Hmm… Maybe it’s got something to do with Volvo Cars currently being owned by the Chinese ’gov.’… :wink:/:scared: Yeah, I know. I’m kind of beating a dead horse here. Unfortunately.

So how do you like that wording? Do I get a pass? :tongue:


– – – Update: – – –

'Full disclosure': Just remembered. It was meant to be two different posts. But apparently since there wasn’t enough time between them, the forum software did an automatic update…

– – – Update: – – –

Note: As far as I know Volvo Cars currently has no plans to bring the V60 Plug-in Hybrid to North America.
 
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@SwedishAdvocate - To be clear, I wasn't critiquing your post. I found the original content you quoted amusing. :)

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Since I quoted Left Lane News, I can’t really think of a way to turn that into something funny… Volvo Cars
Don't you drive on the left side of the road in Sweden? Is the left lane the slow lane? If so, there's something amusing.
 
”Volvo says that the V60 [Plug-in Hybrid] will hit U.S. shores in early 2014.”

Once available in the US in early 2014, will the V60 Plug-in Hybrid then be the safest plug-in hybrid for sale in the US?

Judging from that crash test video, I think the answer would be no (or if it's yes I really, really don't want to ride in any of the other plug-ins).

1. Significant deformation of the A-pillar
2. Hood intrusion through windshield
3. Side impact pole pushes halfway into driver's seating position

Looks pretty terrible.
 
FYI, this car is selling like crazy in the Netherlands. As far as I know they have a couple of thousand orders for it. Same goes for the Outlander PHEV.

There's about 10.000 orders for the Outlander PHEV and some 6000 for the V60. Problem with both vehicles is the production capacity.
 
I'm not sure that the hybrid version will be sold anytime soon in the US though. If you read the NYT article, they don't mention the hybrid drivetrain.
Yeah… That was quite the mistake on my part. Thanks for pointing that out.

Corrected post #3 in this thread where I originally posted that erroneous statement.

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1. Significant deformation of the A-pillar
I really don’t know how these things work, but perhaps the added weight of the battery below the boot floor puts additional stress on the A-pillar. But yeah, as I understand it the A-pillar is not supposed to flex like that and subsequently get that small deformation once settled.

2. Hood intrusion through windshield
Yes, it does intrude a couple of centimetres before flexing back out again, and I guess I can’t really comment further on the severity off that part.

3. Side impact pole pushes halfway into driver's seating position
According to the Euro NCAP the Volt/Ampera scores better than the Volvo in that test: 8 compared to 7,5 (whatever that means). Guessing again that the added weight of the battery in the Volvo, as well as the battery placement might have something to do with that.
 
I prefer the original, more aggressive front end treatment shown above. I welcome any wagon additions to the US market after so many market subtractions. However, I don't think the cargo area of the V60 with all seats up will match my 2001 Passat Wagon. Boooo. V70 PHEV please....

Edit... I also dislike the rising waistline (bottom edge of greenhouse) of the V60 - much as I thought the Passat Wagon revision in 2007 was not an improvement over the prior generation.
 
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I prefer the original, more aggressive front end treatment shown above. /…

It doesn’t look like the hybrid will ever be available in the US, so this is all hypothetical… But, if it ever were to be available, maybe it could be possible to order it with the Polestar styling kit: :rolleyes:

polestar.jpg

Image Credit: Volvo/Polestar?

Guessing though that this styling might impact efficiency… :eek:


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And I was a bit surprised to see this one:

polizei.jpg

Image Credit: Uncredited.

The german police is evaluating two Volvo Plug-in wagons.

Source: 2014 Volvo V60 Plug-In Hybrid for German Police


...but apparently the Berlin Police is driving three Toyota Prius as well as some Opel Ampera, Mitsubishi i-MiEV or the Renault Fluence ZE and Kangoo ZE.
 
It doesn’t look like the hybrid will ever be available in the US, so this is all hypothetical… But, if it ever were to be available, maybe it could be possible to order it with the Polestar styling kit: :rolleyes:

View attachment 36848
Image Credit: Volvo/Polestar?

Guessing though that this styling might impact efficiency… :eek:


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And I was a bit surprised to see this one:

View attachment 36849
Image Credit: Uncredited.

The german police is evaluating two Volvo Plug-in wagons.

Source: 2014 Volvo V60 Plug-In Hybrid for German Police


...but apparently the Berlin Police is driving three Toyota Prius as well as some Opel Ampera, Mitsubishi i-MiEV or the Renault Fluence ZE and Kangoo ZE.


I actually like the styling of the current Volvos.