All-new XC90 will be the First Volvo Built on the Company's new Scalable Product Architecture

PR57555

GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Aug. 12 /PRN=KYODO JBN/ --

     - With Photo

    Volvo's all-new XC90 - which will be launched in two weeks' time in

Stockholm - will be the first car in its range to be built on the Scalable

Product Architecture (SPA) modular chassis technology developed in-house.

    To view the Multimedia News Release, please click:

http://www.multivu.com/mnr/7276252-volvo-XC90-first-scalable-product-architecture

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140812/700922 )

    SPA has been under in-house development at Volvo for the past four years

and is the cornerstone of the company's ongoing USD 11bn transformation plan.

It will be introduced with the all-new XC90 and then rolled out across the

product range in future.

    The benefits of SPA are twofold.

    First, the flexibility of SPA liberates Volvo's engineers and designers,

allowing them to devise and introduce a wide range of new and alluring design

features at the same time as improving driveability, introducing world-first

safety features, offering the latest connected car technologies and creating

more interior space.

    "SPA and the XC90 are firm evidence of our Volvo-by-Volvo strategy. The

XC90's outstanding combination of luxury, space, versatility, efficiency and

safety will bring the SUV segment into a new dimension, just as the original

XC90 did in 2002," says Dr Peter Mertens, Senior Vice President, Research and

Development of Volvo Car Group.

    Secondly, SPA will change the way Volvo builds cars in future by allowing a

wide range of cars, powertrains, electrical systems and technologies - all of

differing complexity - to be fitted on the same architecture, generating

significant economies of scale.

    The new SPA chassis technology reduces weight and improves weight

distribution, improving driving pleasure without compromising on ride comfort.

"SPA gives us a fresh technological start. Around 90 per cent of the

components in the all-new XC90 and upcoming models are new and unique. We are

raising the bar to the very top of the premium league when it comes to quality

and technology level in every vital area," says Dr Mertens.

    With SPA, previous design limitations in areas such as wheelbase, overhang,

vehicle height and the height of the front are removed.

    "This has created greater freedom for us to design cars with a confident

stance, dynamic proportions and a number of distinctive design signatures. Our

three recent concept cars have demonstrated this capability. Even though the

all-new XC90 is an entirely different type of car, you will recognise the

connection instantly when it is revealed in two weeks," says Thomas Ingenlath,

Senior Vice President Design of Volvo Car Group.

    The new face of Volvo: 'Thor's Hammer' running lights

    Today, for the first time, Volvo is revealing images of the front end or

'face' of the new XC90 SUV, which is distinguished by its T-shaped running

lights, christened 'Thor's Hammer' by the design team after the shape of the

hammer used by the famous Norse god of thunder Thor.

    "Anyone who looks in their rear-view mirror is going to know immediately

that there is a new XC90 behind them," says Mr Ingenlath. "The XC90 is a car

that has presence on the road."

    Note to Editors:

    A picture accompanying this release is available through the PA Photowire.

It can be downloaded from http://www.pa-mediapoint.press.net or viewed at

http://www.mediapoint.press.net or http://www.prnewswire.co.uk.

    Stefan Elfstrom

    Media Relations Manager

    Corporate Communications

    Volvo Car Corporation

    Dept. 50250/PVH50

    Goteborg

    Sweden

    Telephone +46-31-3251878

    SOURCE: Volvo Car Corporation