Eco Warriors

Volvo reducing lifecycle carbon footprint per car by 40% by 2040, becoming carbon neutral

Eileen Falkenberg-Hull
Oct 30, 2019, 9:37 am

Volvo is setting ambitious goals for becoming eco friendly throughout its supply chain.

Photo courtesy of Volvo Car USA

Volvo wants to become a carbon neutral company by 2040. To get to that milestone, the automaker has announced plans to reduce its lifecycle carbon footprint per car by 40 percent by 2025. They also want their manufacturing network to be carbon neutral by 2025.

The company isn't just rolling out a fleet of electric vehicles and calling it a day. They are tackling the issue throughout their business network from the supply chain to materials reuse to vehicle electrification.

"We are transforming our company through concrete actions, not symbolic pledges," said Håkan Samuelsson, chief executive. "So at Volvo Cars we will address what we control, which is both our operations and the tailpipe emissions of our cars. And we will address what we can influence, by calling on our suppliers and the energy sector to join us in aiming for a climate neutral future."

Volvo manufacturing Volvo will be working with its suppliers to help them clean up their operations in order to achieve their goal.Photo courtesy of Volvo Car USA

The biggest piece of the puzzle includes the goal of generating 50 percent of global sales from fully electric cars by 2025. This would reduce tailpipe emissions by half. This will, of course, depend on the market's demand for these sorts of vehicles.

Volvo is also aiming to reduce the CO2 emissions of its global supply chain by 2025 and will equip each new Volvo car with 25 percent recycled plastics by the same year. An additional 25 percent reduction in carbon emissions will be possible by modifying operations practices.

Volvo has already announced plans to phase out the internal combustion engine in the coming years. They recently debuted their first electric vehicle, the XC40 Recharge.

From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web

Trending News

 
 

Discontinued sedan

Volkswagen nixing Passat after 2022 model year

Racing Green Metallic is one of four exclusive colors for the car.

Volkswagen

After five decades on sale in the U.S., Volkswagen is pulling the plug on the midsize Passat. The explosion of SUVs' popularity and the need to shift production power to electric vehicles are behind the decision, which will take place after the 2022 model year. The cars have been built at the automaker's Chattanooga, TN plant since 2011, but the facility is being repurposed as VW's North American hub for electric vehicle assembly.

Volkswagen is giving the car one last hurrah, however, in the form of the Passat Limited Edition. The car features 18-inch wheels, LED headlights with an Advanced Front Lighting System, and an easy-open trunk. Inside, the cars come with sport seats wrapped in Vienna leather, memory seating, a Fender Premium Audio System, parking assistance, and parking sensors.


2022 Volkswagen Passat Limited Edition Each car gets a special model tag with its limited production number.Volkswagen


Only 1,973 of the cars will be built, and it will only be sold in four colors, each with its own limited production numbers that have special meaning for the Passat:

  • Aurora Red Metallic with Titan Black interior: 411 units to represent the original vehicle production code
  • Racing Green Metallic with Mauro Brown interior: 423 units to commemorate the Chattanooga 423 area code
  • Pure white with Mauro Brown interior: 524 units to signify the Chattanooga plant's May 24 opening date
  • Platinum Great Metallic with Titan Black interior: 615 units to signify six generations of imported Passats, one generation assembled in Chattanooga, and five decades of U.S. sales

Pricing for the 2022 Passat starts at $31,290, which includes a $995 destination fee. Adding Aurora Red Metallic drives the price up by an additional $395. Each car will receive a special number plate to designate its place in the limited production run.


2022 Volkswagen Passat Limited Edition The Passat Limited Edition gets several upscale features. Volkswagen

From Your Site Articles

Trending News

 
 

Electric vehicle features

The VW ID.4 sounds futuristic

The ID.4 is VW's first electric crossover in the U.S.

VW

The Volkswagen ID.4 is finally here. The electric crossover offers compelling features, decent all-electric range, and a reasonable price. On top of all that, Volkswagen focused heavily on the electric experience with the ID.4, down to the sounds it makes in everyday operation.

Where many automakers seek to humanize electric vehicles with familiar gas engine sounds, Volkswagen hasn't bothered with any of that. Instead, the automaker's ID.4 electric crossover features several sounds that embrace the EV's place in the future of transportation.

On startup, drivers are greeted with a sound that Volkswagen says will alert them that the vehicle is ready to go. It's not at all unlike the flying saucer sounds heard in sci-fi movies decades ago, but it's a nice reminder of the ID.4's future-forward drivetrain.



In motion, VW gave the ID.4 what is known as an Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System, which helps alert people to the presence of a moving electric vehicle. Since the drivetrain doesn't make the same noises that a gas engine does, EVs can move almost silently at low speeds, so it's important to have some kind of warning sound.

Even the turn signal sounds received scrutiny in the ID.4's design, and while they're still fairly traditional, the sounds are subtle and pleasing overall. Beyond that, VW says it developed a library of sounds for typical vehicle control buttons and other functions that are exclusive to its electric vehicles. The goal, according to the automaker, is that the sound aligns with the vehicles' character, visual design, and features, and that people will be able to recognize a VW EV by its unique sound.

The ID.4 is just the first of several EVs that Volkswagen plans to release here in the United States. Larger family vehicles are on the horizon, and we may even see an electric revival of the legendary VW bus.

From Your Site Articles

Trending News