Corporate news 2009

As the urbanisation rapidly moves forward in Asia, the demand for buses for public transportation is increasing. The Volvo Group’s various bus companies in the region are selling around 10,000 buses per year and Volvo Buses represents half of the sales.

After a long period of negotiation, Volvo Aero Norge (VAN) recently signed a ten-year contract for continued production and deliveries of jet engine shafts to Pratt & Whitney. The contract also covers supply of the shaft for the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine for the production phase of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme.

Volvo Trucks will be the first manufacturer with an efficient diesel engine fuelled by a mixture of methane gas and diesel. The engine meets the strict Euro 5 exhaust emission standards introduced in 2009. Field testing will start in Sweden and the UK in 2010. “This unique technology allows us to combine the advantages of gas with the diesel engine’s high efficiency rating, which is about 30-40 percent superior to that of the spark plug engine,” comments Lars Mårtensson, Environmental Director Volvo Trucks. “As a result, this truck consumes considerably less energy than traditional gas trucks do.”

Volvo Construction Equipment goes standard fit with CareTrack with the backend system being supplied by WirelessCar. CareTrack will be available standard from January 2010 on all larger machines, along with a 36 month no charge activation.

In the midst of the ongoing recession, Volvo Trucks has been preparing for a forthcoming market upswing. The aim is quality-driven production with a firm focus on more intelligent working methods and continuous improvement.

Volvo’s hybrid bus is one of the environmental buses that will be servicing the special COP15 route during the climate conference in Copenhagen. This hybrid bus reduces carbon emissions by up to 30%.

Watch Volvo Group CEO Leif Johansson on CNN Money, demonstrating a Mack garbage truck and talking about the current economic situation.

Watch Volvo Group CEO Leif Johansson on CNN Money, demonstrating a Mack garbage truck and talking about the current economic situation.

Orders for the Volvo Group’s trucks were highest of all in Asia during the year’s third quarter, a trend that has remained constant throughout the 2000s except during the financial crisis. “We’ve taken a big leap forward in Asia during the last few years”, comments Pär Östberg, Senior Vice President of the Volvo Group and President Trucks Asia.

Volvo Trucks’ web-based system for transport information, Dynafleet, is now being expanded with yet another function designed to make life easier for drivers and haulage companies alike. Tachograph Download ensures that all information from the digital tachograph is automatically transferred via the Internet to the transport manager.