Swedish auto maker Volvo has recently outlined a future platform and drivetrain plan after it separated from Ford, its parent company then . The future planning by Volvo includes a new modular platform that can possibly be used to underpin a wide range of vehicles from say, a C30 to an S80 and the auto maker’s plan also has a new range of highly efficient four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines.
The new Scalable Platform Architecture (SPA) will permit Volvos of future to be as much as 150kgs lighter than the outgoing models. Their modularity will translate into all models — regardless of size — to utilise the same production line. Now Chinese-owned, Volvo claims that the SPA also benefits from improved weight distribution and better driving dynamics. Safety is something that Volvo has always given a prime importance to and the SPA will be seen incorporating a common electrical and safety architecture for all models.
The Volvo Environmental Architecture (VEA) direct-injection petrol and common-rail diesel engines will produce less CO2 and offer up to 35 percent better fuel economy than the predecessors of the proposed engines, that are in use today. Volvo aims for a greater and more efficient performance than current six-cylinder units.
VEA engines should also be as much as 100kgs lighter than present units and keeping in line with the increasing concern of fossil fuel decline and also the unwanted strains on environment, some will be offered with hybrid technology, including a hybrid system that includes an innovative flywheel and should produce about 80bhp more power and 20 percent better economy.
Volvo is gradually spreading its wings in India, from being known as a world-class bus manufacturer to being known for its capable SUVs and also for the S80 that takes the fight straight to German automakers, it will be interesting to see the response of people once our market receives the proposed upgrades. These upgrades combined with Volvo’s new found styling language will probably make a strong case for its cars.