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Announcement at odds with Ford's announcement that it was switching from hybrid technology to alternative fuels. (http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2006-06-30T102039Z_01_L3046340_RTRUKOC_0_US-AUTOS-FORD-VOLVO.xml&archived=False)

Reuter’s - June 30, 2006

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/06_MARINER_Hybrid_CVT.jpg
CVT Transaxle like that developed for the FEH will reside with Ford’s subsidiary - Volvo.

STOCKHOLM - Ford Motor Co.'s Volvo Car Corp. said on Friday it would invest 10 billion Swedish crowns ($1.36 billion) over five years to develop cars that consume less fuel.

"The aim is to reduce the total fuel economy and tailpipe emissions of the global Volvo Cars fleet," the firm said in a statement.

"The investment initiative will focus primarily on the development and deployment of cleaner, more efficient diesel engines, hybrids and alternative fuel vehicles, the use of light, strong materials ... and the introduction of smaller vehicles."

The firm also said that a new development center for hybrid technology would be created in Gothenburg, on Sweden's west coast. The move appears at odds with Ford's announcement on Thursday that it was switching its focus from hybrid technology to alternative fuels.

"I think this should rather be seen as a sign that Ford is broadening its efforts in the field of environmental technology to include more of alternative fuels and the like," Volvo Cars Chief Executive Fredrik Arp told Reuters.

The unit, which would initially be staffed by 20 engineers, would be responsible for introducing hybrid systems into Volvo cars as well as ensuring that other brands in the group could apply the technology in their own product plans.

"I think that it (the unit) will be gradually expanded over a two-year period ... to somewhere around 50 to 100 employees," Arp said.

If Ford is ignoring Volvo technology, shouldn't Nissan and Renaut take note?

I have always admired Volvo's relatively free-spirited approach to R&D, which has always been geared in part toward environmental concerns. Here's a good link to Volvo concept cars dating back to the very beginning:

http://www.swedespeed.com/news/publish/Features/article_149.html

One of my favorites was the light components project (LCP - number 7 on that list). Not only did it seat 4 and weigh in at 700kg, but they used a variety of small (in the 1.4L range) turbodiesels, one of which was configured to burn biofuels such as vegetable oil. They built it in 1983.

I would love to see Volvo get into the hybrid game as long as they don't do something stupid, like build a hybrid XC90. Something like a hybrid V50 would be a fantastic little family car for the upscale market, if you ask me. It's small enough that you could probably get it into the 40mpg range with a system similar to that used in the Escape, ideally with a smaller ICE for enhanced efficiency.