Written by Cláudio Afonso | info@claudio-afonso.com | LinkedIn | Twitter
Volvo announced on Wednesday that its fully electric model Volvo C40 Recharge has been awarded a five-star safety rating in the 2022 Euro NCAP tests. The Swedish automaker that plans to become a pure EV manufacturer by 2030 has now all the models rated five stars in their respective Euro NCAP assessments.
The C40 Recharge scored especially well on occupant safety and driver assist systems, helped by one of the most extensive standard safety offers in its segment. Among many other scenarios, these safety technologies help drivers detect and avoid collisions, remain in their lane and reduce the impact of accidentally running off the road, Volvo stated.
“We always aim to be a leader in safety,” said Malin Ekholm, head of the Volvo Cars Safety Centre. “That means we adhere to strict safety standards in all of our cars, many of which we helped establish over time. No matter which Volvo you choose, you and your loved ones will drive one of the safest cars on the market.”
On Monday, the automaker announced that successfully placed its second green bond to raise €500 million from global investors in order to accelerate the transformation towards becoming a fully electric carmaker by 2030.
Over two thirds of the proceeds will fund the research and development of electric powertrains for next generation pure electric Volvo cars as well as related new platform technology, while the rest will be invested in boosting the company’s production capacity of fully electric cars, Volvo stated.
The company delivered 47,150 vehicles in April, down 24.8 percent year-over-year. When it comes to the recharge models (Plug-in Hybrid + Fully EV), the Swedish automaker delivered 18,097 units, growing 18.7 percent from April 2021. Volvo’s Recharge models accounted for 38.4 per cent of total sales growing for the fourth consecutive month.
In 2021, Volvo sold 698,700 vehicles of which 188,649 were recharge models. When compared to 2020, the automaker increased sales of these vehicles by 63.9 percent. For the January-April period, Volvo Cars’ sales reached 195,445 cars, down 21.3 per cent compared with the same period last year.
In April, Covid-19 lockdowns in eastern China impacted retail deliveries in China and added more challenges to already weakened global supply chains, resulting in additional loss of production. As previously communicated at the end of the first quarter, Volvo Cars informed of a supplier shortage of a specific type of semi-conductor, which will impact production during the second quarter. The company considers this a temporary setback and expects the supply chain restraints related to semi-conductors to improve during the second half of the year, Volvo stated.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | info@claudio-afonso.com | LinkedIn | Twitter