2001 Volvo S80 2.9 on 2040-cars

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Volvo finds a way to turn body panels into batteries [w/video]

One of the problems with designing an electric vehicle is figuring out where to fit the battery pack. Volvo - as a part of a European Union research project - is working on a way around this issue by replacing standard parts with lightweight components that double as batteries on both conventional and plug-in vehicles. The image above shows one such piece on a Volvo S80. While looking like nothing more than a carbon fiber plenum cover, the piece is actually a battery pack that can store and supply enough energy for the car's entire 12-volt power system.
The parts are made by sandwiching super capacitors (which can charge faster than standard batteries) in between layers of carbon fiber. They can then be formed to replace numerous body panels such as the decklid, roof or door panels. Volvo says that the replacing the body panels and batteries with these nano batteries can help reduce the vehicle's weight by as much as 15 percent. It has taken more than three years just to design the batteries, so there's no telling when, or if, we'll ever see this technology used on a production vehicle. Scroll down for a video and press release on Volvo's innovative battery technology.

Volvo won't go after S-Class, 7 Series market

Volvo vice president of powertrain engineering, Derek Crabb, recently said that the Swedish automaker is developing smaller and smarter powertrain options that will "turn V8s into dinosaurs" - a statement that could have been our first indication that Volvo is no longer looking to create a luxury flagship sedan to take on German land yachts like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Audi A8 and BMW 7 Series. Now Automotive News seems to be backing this up after speaking with CEO Hakan Samuelsson, who said that a big sedan wouldn't fit the brand's green image and, more importantly, might not even be a car that its customers would even consider.
Rather than trying to compete in a small, established market against rear-drive, 12-cylinder sedans, Volvo is looking at the emerging, higher-volume premium small car segment to take on its German rivals with the all-new Volvo V40 (shown above). Not wanting to abandon the big-vehicle segment altogether, a next-generation XC90 is due out within the next couple years (and was spotted in some recent spy shots), and it will ride on the new Scalable Platform Architecture (SPA), which will be shared with the new S80 according to the AN article.

Volvo agrees to transfer tech to new parent Geely

Following the acquisition of Volvo by China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in 2010, we definitely saw this news coming. The two companies have signed an agreement that will give Chinese automaker Geely access to key technologies developed by Volvo, and in turn, the deal could help the Swedish automaker lower its production costs.
As a part of the "technological cooperation agreements" signed by both companies, Automotive News China reports that Geely will be able to tap Volvo for three much-needed technologies, including the use of a midsize platform, Volvo's proven safety innovations and interior air quality systems. The latter two technologies are important to improve the crashworthiness of Geely's cars, along with helping isolate vehicle occupants from China's often severe air pollution. The report says that Volvo tech will likely be used on a premium car brand that Geely is expected to create.
Volvo, on the other hand, is to benefit from the "local market exploration experience and cost control experience" of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, which is technical way of saying that Volvo will be able reduce its costs by tapping into Geely's established supply chain.