Volvo

Volvo has pushed the long-awaited EX30 EV back a few times, but it’s now having to reverse that trend as it sees slipping sales in the United States. The automaker recently announced that it would move initial EX30 deliveries up from summer 2025 to December of this year.

Despite technically having already adopted the North American Charging System (NACS) standard, Volvo and Polestar have announced that their vehicles will soon begin shipping vehicles with NACS adapters. This means that the Combined Charging System (CCS) that its products default to will likewise be capable of utilizing Tesla’s Supercharger network — which is the only EV charging infrastructure to garner any serious praise from the public.

I began my automotive journalism career in late 2006, when the late Davey G. Johnson convinced Jalopnik to hire me, and I began writing about the interesting (to me) junkyard cars of Northern California soon after that. I photographed a pair of white Volvo Amazons back in those days, and it appears that I never wrote a Jalopnik post about them. So, here they are!

Today we present to you a 2009 Volvo C30 T5 R-Design named Sven.

Like other automakers, Volvo is questioning its commitment to a fully electric future. The Swedish company recently revealed its plans to introduce ten new and updated models over the next two years, which will include a refresh of its flagship SUV and a few EVs.

For a short time, it felt like car subscriptions might be the vehicle ownership model of the future, but they never took off. One of the more well-known services, Car by Volvo, debuted in 2017, but the automaker quickly ran into pushback from dealers. Despite some saying the program reeled in new buyers, Volvo is discontinuing the service for the “foreseeable future.”

Owners of certain Volvo models stretching back to the 2020 model year will benefit from a new over-the-air update, one which will install the company’s redesigned infotainment UX which just debuted on the EX90 and EX30.

Volvo is readying the release of the new electric EX90, but it hasn’t forgotten about the three-row SUV that wore the “90” tag first. The 2025 XC90 gets refreshed styling, a new interior, and other design elements that bring it closer in line with its electric counterpart.

The new SUV retains its gas and plug-in hybrid powertrains, but its exterior features smoother lines and a more modern look. The seven-seater also got a new adaptive suspension system that Volvo said provides better stability and performance through all road conditions. The system can also raise the vehicle by 40mm and lower by 20mm, making it easier to enter and exit, or to load and unload gear.

A bit late today because of travel to the West Coast, but I present to you a 2004 Volvo C70.

The U.S. government recently announced severe tariffs on Chinese-built vehicles, reaching 100 percent in some cases. While some of the staggering number of Chinese automakers have expressed no interest in selling here, some of the United States’ more recognizable auto brands are owned by companies in the country, including Volvo and Polestar. Both are owned by Geely, a Chinese corporation, but to get around tariffs on the upcoming Polestar 3, the automaker has moved production of the electric SUV to Volvo’s factory in South Carolina.

The Volvo EX90 is due to arrive later this year, but its release hasn’t been without hiccups. It was delayed for more than a year while the automaker worked out glitches in the SUV’s software, and tens of thousands of already-released European models were recalled earlier this year for software issues. Now, facing higher production and material costs, Volvo is raising the EX90’s starting price before its U.S. launch.

The SUV’s price jumped by $3,300 across the lineup, with the starting MSRP now at $81,290 with a $1,295 destination fee. Additionally, Volvo said the vehicle would launch without some features, including safety tech using its much-touted LiDAR sensors.

Volvo is having trouble getting new EVs off the production line and onto dealers’ lots. The automaker recently delayed the launch of the small, affordable EX30 due to “changes in the global automotive landscape,” but it now appears that the flagship EX90 will experience similar issues.

Some of Volvo's newer EVs are a bit strange, design-wise, so it was nice to pilot a Volvo PHEV that remind me of the company I grew up with.

Boxy(ish) design, luxurious without being ostentatious, just sporty enough to be engaging. This is the Volvo I remember.

We reported this morning about the software glitches that European Volvo EX30 buyers are experiencing. This, a week or so after we found out the EX30's American launch would be delayed.

The move to electrification hasn’t been easy for every automaker. After making a big to-do about its shift away from smartphone mirroring, General Motors had to delay the Chevrolet Blazer EV to fix software issues, and now, it appears that Volvo is having the same challenges. The automaker has experienced software glitches with its new EX30 in Europe, leading to reported refunds and buybacks.

Anyone excited to get behind the wheel of the Volvo EX30 they preordered must wait an extra spell. In an email to stakeholders, the brand said they’re shifting the target date to 2025 – and it has much to do with Biden’s new import tariffs on EVs built in China.

Today we give you what could be a sneaky fun Swede -- this 1998 Volvo S70 T5 with a manual.

Another sedan is about to meet its demise on our market. At the end of the month, Volvo plans on ending production of the S60 in South Carolina and there has been confirmation that the model will not be imported.

Today we go away from the Lincoln/ Mercury love for a beat-up but classic Volvo -- this 1965 Volvo 122s.

Sometimes we share clean used cars that would make solid daily drivers. And sometimes we share something that needs work but could be had cheap.

Today's 2006 Volvo XC90 is the latter case.

Volvo sold brick-shaped rear-wheel-drive station wagons in North America beginning in 1968 with the 145 and continuing through the final V90s three decades later. The 700 Series wagons showed up just about in the middle of that era, but tend to be overshadowed by their 245 predecessors today. Today we'll honor the 740 longroof by admiring one that drove past the 400k-mile mark during its career.

Today we bring you a manual-transmission wagon. Got the vapors yet? It's also Swedish. It's a 2006 Volvo V70R.

Unofficial Volvo week continues. I wanted to move on from Sweden but this 1965 Volvo 122S is too unique to pass up.

I know, I know, we've been Volvo heavy the past week or so. Sorry about that, but our forums keep filling up with cool Volvos.

Like this 2012 Volvo C30 R-Design.

Yes, we're back on the Volvo kick. There's no real reason for this beyond the fact that the forum I pull from has been Volvo-heavy recently. And well, this one's a wagon. We all know wagons are cool again.

So, hit the jump to read about this 1998 Volvo V70 GLT.

Volvo is introducing a new feature that alerts drivers of accidents reported on the road ahead. With similar services available for free on select phone apps, many of which can be integrated with your vehicle’s infotainment display, Volvo’s offering doesn’t sound incredibly novel on its face. But it’s leveraging real-time data from government-operated traffic management centers via the automobile’s proprietary user interface, technically making the feature the first of its kind within the automotive industry.

We're going back-to-back Volvo this week.

Today, it's a manual-transmission 1971 Volvo 142s.

Today we bring you a '90s Swede. Hit the jump to see this 1992 Volvo 940 GL sedan.

Alphanumeric vehicle names can be confusing, especially if they’re not directly tied to a vehicle specification or feature. Volvo ran into that issue with its electric and plug-in hybrid models, leading the automaker to change their names to more clearly designate their places in its catalog.

Today we're going north of the border to the home of our parent company to bring you this 1988 Volvo 780 Bertone.

Volvo spun off Polestar years ago, but the Chinese-owned Swedish automaker has been footing part of the bill for Polestar’s operations since then. Things are changing for Polestar, however, as Volvo will hand the brand over to parent company Geely to focus on its growth and stability.

The Volvo EX30 promises to be one of the most affordable new EVs on the market, but it’s not quite ready for primetime. Volvo recently announced that it was delaying European deliveries of the SUV to fix software issues.

We're staying in the Nineties today with this 1997 Volvo 850 GLT Turbo wagon.

Today we bring you a small, swift Swedish hatch with a six-speed stick. This one-owner 2011 Volvo C30 R-Design is for sale for $17,000 out of Washington state.

I've been writing about junkyardified cars here at TTAC since November of 2010, when I documented a pair of Fiat 128s in a Denver boneyard. Since then, we've seen plenty of discarded Volvos here, but no Volvo 200 Series four-door sedans!

Today we bring you something a little different: A 1967 Volvo 122S Amazon.

The North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year (NACTOY) awards are a big deal this time of year, as they can significantly boost a model’s fortunes on the market. The automotive journalist-led assessments have requirements on when in the year vehicles can be released to qualify for an award. The Volvo EX30 was on the list until yesterday when NACTOY President Jeff Gilbert notified the group that the automaker had requested its new electric SUV be removed from the running because it won’t arrive until deep into 2024.

Today we're going wagon style as we bring you a 2007 Volvo V70R Ti.

Today's UCOTD is a 1991 Volvo 240 that's the proverbial "driven only to church" car.

Today we're bringing you a high-mileage 2002 Volvo S60 AWD that is available at a bargain price.

Polestar’s EVs are elegantly styled and offer great tech and safety equipment, but the automaker only has one model on sale in the U.S. right now. That’s about to change, as the Polestar 3 is nearing the completion of its development phase, and the U.S. model is expected to enter production early next year.

It’s no secret that Volvo wants to become a completely climate-neutral company, and the automaker has promised to go fully electric by the end of the decade. As part of that transition, Volvo is completely phasing out its iconic diesel powertrains by early next year.

China is the world’s largest auto market, with nearly 30 million cars sold there last year, and automakers of all stripes are eager to grab a piece of the action, especially with electric vehicles. Tesla, Ford, General Motors, and most luxury brands offer broad product lines in the country, and that includes Volvo and Polestar, both owned by Chinese auto giant Geely. That relationship with China gives the automakers the ability to offer unique products there, and Polestar’s latest innovation is a great example. It has developed a new smartphone that it plans to sell with its debut SUV in the country, the Polestar 4. 

Earlier this year, Volvo teased the all-electric EM90 minivan. However, the model will reportedly be exclusive to Asian markets — disappointing dozens of North American residents who still believe it’s the most practical vehicle type.

Today we have another manual-transmission wagon. What can we say? We're automotive journalists. At least this 2005 Volvo V50 2.5T AWD isn't brown.

Want a car that's cheap, a bit of a project, and a stickshift? This 2007 Volvo V50 T5 with all-wheel drive will fit the bill.

Volvo Cars is suspending sedan sales in the United Kingdom and it looks like North America could be next if we consider the brand’s rationale. The company has said its sales volume has skewed so heavily toward SUVs and crossovers that it doesn’t make good sense to offer anything else.

As the automotive world moves closer to semi-autonomous and someday, autonomous driving functions, vehicles will need more sensors and advanced tools to “feel” their way through the surrounding environment. Volvo plans to do that with the upcoming EX90 EV, but it appears the advanced sensor array could be causing delays.

The word “quiet” in the headline applies in two different ways to the 2023 Volvo V60 Cross Country wagon. It means quiet in the literal sense – the cabin of this car isolates noise nicely, as befits a luxury car – but also in the more abstract sense. This is a car that seems to fly under the radar, even as it’s one of the last wagons left on the market.

The automotive world recently lost a giant of design. Peter Horbury, the man credited with pushing Volvo from the brick-making OEM to one building flowing, curvy vehicles, has died. He passed away, aged 73, on a recent trip to China while visiting colleagues from his more recent employer, Lotus.

The exodus from CCS charging ports to NACS plugs continues apace with Volvo announcing its plan to incorporate the Tesla-designed tech starting in 2025.

Today's UCOTD is a save-the-manuals special. That's right, this 2007 Volvo C70 has a six-speed stick.

Volvo is dropping front-wheel drive for the XC40 and XC60 crossovers for 2024. However, this also means the XC40 will lose the 2.0-liter B4 turbo (194 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque) and now have the B5 variant (247 hp and 258 pound-feet) as its singular powertrain. Since the XC60 comes exclusively with the B5 already, the only change is that front-wheel drive will be removed from the menu.

On paper, the 2022 Volvo C40 Recharge Twin Ultimate seems like a fine compact EV. And it looks cool. Yet it has quirks that detract from the experience – which would be OK if the driving dynamics were just a tick better.

“Quirky” is an adjective that’s been applied to Volvos in the past, in ways both good and bad, and it certainly applies here, though the quirks are more confounding than fun.

Despite all-electric vehicles being heralded as environmentally sound solutions that would kick down the door to affordable mobility, there haven’t been a lot of good examples hitting the market recently. Most models are aimed at the affluent, resulting in 9,000-pound behemoths with six-figure price tags. General Motors recently released the absolutely ludicrous GMC Hummer EV while the Chevrolet Bolt is being discontinued.

Meanwhile, Volvo has introduced the EX30 — a pint-sized EV that’s to serve as the foundation of its all-electric transformation. But it’s difficult to say whether or not it’s going to deliver on those early promises of electrification.

Volvo has come up with some truly compelling EV designs, and that’s before we talk about anything from Polestar. The automaker’s upcoming EX90 blends the XC90’s clean, attractive shape with advanced safety and driver-assist technology. It’s become so popular with prospective buyers that Volvo had to stop taking orders to catch up.

The Polestar 4 is coming soon, bringing a striking design and no rear window. Though it will eventually become available in several countries, including the U.S., Polestar’s launching the oddball EV in China to start. The $60,000-ish Polestar 4 is now available for preorder only in China, using the company’s QR code and app.

Though it’s a bit more adventurous and sporty than its parent company, Polestar’s designs haven’t drastically strayed from Volvo’s calming look. That’s changing – albeit slightly – for 2024, with the introduction of the Polestar 4. The coupe-SUV features a concept car look, including a large solid panel where the back window should be.

Today's UCOTD is a modern wagon with just 26K miles on the clock and 20-inch wheels.

Scientists making an artificial sun in a lab somewhere sounds ripped from a sci-fi villain movie, but one of the world’s most straight-laced automakers recently announced that it has come up with LED lights that mimic the natural light range and quality of sunlight.