Volvo Doing Alright Under New Management

by Bertel Schmitt

Published: March 1st, 2011

volvo doing alright under new management

„Let’s see what Volvo has with Jacoby as chief and the Chinese as owners.”

If I would have a Euro for each time that sentence is uttered in Geneva, I’d be rich by now. Volvo shows a V60 plug-in hybrid wagon. It uses a 215 horsepower 2.4L diesel 5-cylinder engine to drive the front wheels, while a 70 horsepower electric motor powers the rear.

Three power modes are on tap: Pure electric, hybrid driving and one named “Power”.

In electric mode, the V60 can go as far as 30 miles without using any diesel. It can be charged in as little as 3 hours.

#BertelSchmitt #V60 #Volvo

Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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BlueEr03 on Mar 01, 2011

It looks like a stretched, 4-door C30.

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- JMII on Mar 02, 2011
  
  Yes it does... sort of. But something about it just doesn't look right. And as someone who just test drove a C30 I sure hope it has Volvo's patented blind spot warning system, because despite the C30s size the combination of high doors (for safety?), wide wheel arches (very stylish) and small mirrors (better areo?) makes seeing what is over your shoulder a touch tricky.
  
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Kristjan Ambroz on Mar 03, 2011

Who knows, if they are serious about it (i.e. if it is actually reliably running), they could be the first ones to offer a diesel-electric hybrid, with the added bonus of a plug in. I still somehow recon Peugeot will probably beat them to it, at least with the diesel part.

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