Volvo Trucks announced on the 21st that it has signed a contract with Norway’s ø ø Kalk AS to provide a self-driving solution for transporting limestone from open-air mines to nearby ports.
“The demand for global transportation is changing at a rapid pace and the industry is demanding solutions to stay ahead,” said Volvo Truck President Klass Nielsen. “Volvo Truck aims to become a leader in the development of products and services that can meet these needs.”
The suspension is rather firm, but it sufficiently compensates for the impact of unevenness, so you don’t feel tired even when driving for a long time. The weight of the steering wheel is light, so it will not be difficult to operate even for female drivers. In addition, she is excellent at changing lanes rapidly or moving around corners even without considering that she is an SUV. It was not easy to find shortcomings compared to competitors such as interior and exterior design, driving performance, and convenience and safety items.
According to the company, Volvo Trucks will operate six Volvo FH trucks equipped with an autonomous driving system under the contract to transport limestone collected from mines in Calk, Bronx, to a nearby port through a 5-kilometer tunnel. To this end, Volvo Trucks is conducting pre-testing and plans to commercialize it at the end of next year.
The global “SUV craze” was a big opportunity for Volvo Cars. Starting with the new XC90 in 2016, the company released the second-generation XC60 and small SUV XC40 one after another last year, completing the “XC Range,” the strongest SUV lineup ever, with sales growth and brand image rising at a premium.
Based on the new platform SPA, the second-generation XC60 has increased the length and width, while lowering the height to achieve a dynamic posture. The wheelbase has been increased by 90 millimeters to expand interior space. The application of the new platform has improved both design completeness and practicality. The interior faithfully embodies the nature-friendly Volvo’s Scandinavian design, including a wood trim with a grain of wood and a sheet with a brown Nappa leather material.
The test drive is the gasoline T6 Inspiration. It combines a four-cylinder 2.0-liter engine with an eight-speed automatic transmission to produce up to 320 horsepower and up to 40.8 kg·m. Combined efficiency is 9.4 km per liter, the same engine as the XC90, and the performance is ample just by looking at the figures. Meeting a small XC60 makes it difficult to move. It goes smoothly from initial acceleration to speeding up without any stress.
The flagship second-generation XC90 is a car that truly contains Volvo’s legacy and brand philosophy. Its existing strength is safety, and it has been reborn as a luxury SUV that transcends identity. It is said that it has successfully established a new Volvo design identity, paving the way for the successful settlement of the XC60 and XC40 family look.
Sales of the XC range are eye-watering. If the current popularity continues until the end of this year, it is expected to grow by more than 600 percent compared to 2013. Such gusts in Korea are leading to a shortage of supplies. Some products require more than a year to wait. The background of the unprecedented market reaction is the marketability that overwhelms competitors in all areas, including design completeness, driving performance, and cutting-edge items of the XC range. Volvo’s present and future “XC range” was encountered in Gangwon Province.
The test drive is the D5, which combines a four-cylinder 2.0-liter diesel engine with an eight-speed automatic transmission. It has a maximum performance of 235 horsepower and 48.9 kilograms·m. In particular, it adopts the “power pulse” technology, which stores compressed air in a tank and supplies it to the turbocharger immediately after starting or when accelerating. Volvo explains that this can minimize turbo-lag. Moreover, it can reach 0→100km/h in 7.8 seconds, which is not suitable for its size.
As a result, there may be prejudice against vehicle-class models, but the opposite is true when you take a step back. Although gasoline models have recently attracted attention from mid-sized SUVs, they still think it is unreasonable to follow diesel models with their initial acceleration and generous power. The D5 in particular clearly demonstrates why diesel models are highly preferred in mid-sized SUVs due to their loose movements.
This contract is in line with self-driving projects implemented in the fields of mining and sugarcane harvesting and waste collection. Bronoy, however, did not purchase self-driving trucks, but rather purchased a solution that focused on the transportation of limestone between the two hubs. As a result, Bronoy will purchase the total transportation service and pay the price based on the weight of the limestone being transported
The overall sense of driving feels like a sedan and the suspension is hard, so it is possible to drive stably as it is a model with a relatively high center of gravity. Quietness is also quite impressive in that it has the aspect of a flagship SUV as an active NVH measure. It can be a factor that can be used as a protocol car.
▲XC40, Multi-Compact SUV
Through the XC40, Volvo Cars has pioneered a new segment called a compact SUV. The XC90 and XC60 had mixed market expectations and concerns over the XC40, but the result seems to be leaning toward success. Volvo’s unique design identity has been well melted down to match the vehicle’s class level, and its abundant convenience and safety features that cannot be matched by its peers, as well as its space utilization, which overcomes the limitations of its class level, are considered its biggest strength.
The power train is T4, a gasoline 2.0-liter turbo. It produces up to 190 horsepower and up to 30.6 kg·m of power, and secures 10.3 km per liter of 8-speed automatic transmission, combination and efficiency. By installing AWD as a standard, it does not focus solely on urban driving even though it is a small SUV.