Shen Feng: Volvo will accelerate the introduction of new energy automotive technology

Question: On July 9th this year, the "Energy-saving and new energy automobile industry development plan" was formally released. How do you view the technical route that uses electric vehicles as the main strategic direction?

Shen Feng: After the “Planning” was issued, we communicated with the headquarters at the first time. Now, the headquarters is fully aware of the contents of the “Planning” and the related situations. We know that this "planning" began to be developed in 2010, but it has only been introduced until now, which also reflects the country is very cautious in considering the new energy industry. The introduction of the "Plan" will play a leading and guiding role for the entire industry. In addition, we can also see that the country is still sticking to the path of pure electric and plug-in hybrids, and Volvo has always insisted on this direction.

The 15 Volvo C30s delivered by Volvo to the China (Shanghai) Electric Vehicle International Demonstration Zone are pure electric vehicles. At present, the car has been tested in 8 countries around the world, including Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, etc. The response received is also very good.

Volvo will also be officially listed in the second half of this year, a plug-in hybrid vehicle V60, which is a high-performance plug-in hybrid vehicle, carbon dioxide emissions is very low, it can be said that Volvo's development in the new energy industry It is closely followed by China's industrial policy planning.

In addition, Volvo as a Chinese-owned car company will also accelerate China's technological development in the field of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles, as well as the industrialization process.

Peter Mertens: I am very optimistic about the development of plug-in hybrid vehicles. This is also a step that consumers must undergo before accepting a pure electric vehicle. Therefore, we started the research and development of plug-in hybrid vehicles very early. The first mass-produced V60 plug-in hybrid vehicle will also be launched. This year's fall into the market, which also shows our leading position in the new energy industry.

Q: It is reported that the V60 plug-in hybrid is a diesel version of the car, but it is clear that most Chinese users are more familiar with petrol cars. What is the consideration of adopting the diesel hybrid? Volvo has always been known for producing cars with good safety performance. In terms of electric vehicles, does Volvo have unique technologies to ensure the safety of cars?

Peter Mertens: The reason why the diesel hybrid car was developed at first was that because of the diesel version of the model, European manufacturers have more unique advantages in this regard, and of course they are also accelerating the development of new petrol versions for the Chinese market. Energy car.

Volvo has consistently excelled in car safety performance to ensure that new energy vehicles can achieve the same level of safety as conventional diesel locomotives. Before we launched this C30 electric car, we did a series of crash tests, and the car passed all these tests. In my opinion, the main benefit is due to two reasons: First, the body structure design of this car is very sturdy, it can well absorb the destructive energy generated in the impact; Second, the location of the battery, we put It is placed in the safest position in the car, in the middle of the car, so that it will not be subject to external collisions.

Q: New energy vehicles driven by pure electricity need to have charging equipment. How does Volvo see and solve this problem?

Peter Mertens: In terms of infrastructure construction, we need to work with related agencies, including energy companies, as well as the government to work together to promote the construction of infrastructure. In terms of long-term development, it is also necessary to build such an infrastructure. But before we realize our vision for the future, we have an eclectic approach that uses plug-in hybrid technology to charge the battery through the engine. This is a medium-term technology. We think this is also a good way to make up for the current infrastructure. The solution in place.

Shen Feng: The C30 electric car launched by Volvo can be charged with a household power source. It can be directly charged by plugging it in. In the formal use process after the test drive, the owner needs to have a parking space, and in this parking space. Press and put a socket, and this should not be difficult to achieve.

In addition, in addition to using the plug-in power supply for charging, Volvo is also doing research, for example, through inductive charging, can be charged on the charging board.

Q: After cooperating with Geely, will there be a technical sharing with the other party in the new energy industry, including local suppliers, will there be more cooperation in the future? Peter Mertens: In terms of cooperation with Geely, the two companies are completely independent in their operations. However, from the sharing of parts and the sharing of some technologies, we feel there is still a great potential for electric vehicles. At the same time, we not only share our technology with Geely, but also share our technology with other car manufacturers, so that our technology is applicable not only to Volvo but also to Geely and other car manufacturers.

In addition, in the development of electric vehicles, high technical costs have always been a factor that restricts the development of this industry. If we can increase the market scale effect through cooperation with other manufacturers, not only can we reduce the cost of technology development, but we can also The development of the entire industry brings more opportunities.

About our global supplier and cooperation strategy. In the C30 electric vehicle, the current components are all from European suppliers, and we are also studying which suppliers in China will cooperate with C30 in the future. At the same time, if we introduce the V60 plug-in hybrid in China, we will also study which suppliers in China cooperate. Volvo is very willing to do technology sharing and cooperation, but at present it is not very convenient to publish comparative details, because there are still a lot of work we need to study further.

Shen Feng: Volvo is a Chinese company. Compared with other companies, Volvo will be more willing and more likely to bring some new energy technologies into China. At the same time, Volvo is willing to cooperate with some Chinese suppliers and OEMs. New energy industry development. China will be the largest market for the new energy auto industry. It is essential to cooperate technically and jointly with Chinese suppliers. Volvo is willing to do these things together with Chinese suppliers.

Question: At present, the price of new energy vehicles is still high, and how is Volvo doing in controlling the manufacturing costs of new energy vehicles?

Shen Feng: At present, for all OEMs, doing electric vehicles may not be profitable, because the current market is not big enough, the automobile industry needs, and the manufacturing cost of automobiles can finally come down. But from the current point of view, there will be a process to a large amount. In addition, the development of this industry does not depend solely on OEMs, but on all levels. The government plays a large role in it. The same is true for other governments. Each country has a variety of policies for the new energy industry. In China, as long as you buy new energy vehicles, you can not only enjoy some policy subsidies from the central government, but also enjoy subsidies from local governments. The amount of subsidies in China is still quite large.

In addition, it has a great influence on cost reduction. There are various cooperation models underway today, including the cooperation between OEMs and OEMs, cooperation between OEMs and suppliers, and the purpose of all collaborations is to drive technological advancement, and technology The future cost reduction will play a big role.

Peter Mertens: In addition to the economies of scale just mentioned, there is also a cost of using the car. We want to ensure that our customers are very competitive in terms of cost during the use of the vehicle, whether it is a pure electric vehicle. Still plug-in hybrid vehicles, the use of the entire vehicle should be able to match the cost of traditional cars, especially for large fleet operators is even more so. From the government’s support, they provide subsidies on the one hand when buying a car. On the other hand, they also hope to provide some subsidies on the cost of energy, such as electricity, which will have a great impact on the cost of using the vehicle. So we also expect the government to do some work in these areas.

Q: Realizing the localization of products is also an effective means to reduce costs. How is Volvo deployed for localization of new energy vehicles to achieve product localization?

Shen Feng: When it comes to localization, products must be competitive. Cost is a big factor. Localization is an effective means of reducing costs, but the premise of localization is that domestic suppliers can Meet Volvo's standards. The standards of Volvo products are quite high. If there isn't a single supplier that can meet the standards, then only to go the other way, I will work with you and I will help you grow up to meet my standards.

Q: At present, Volvo's new energy products that we know include the purely electric C30 and the plug-in hybrid V60. In the future, will our focus on marketing be pure electric or plug-in hybrid?

Shen Feng: It should be said that today we are more concerned with the integrated electrification system. This system can be developed well in any car, can be placed on the V60, can be placed on the C30, or even on a certain SUV model, can be, but the specific push what the car is a market behavior, many customers like it SUV, I can put this system on the SUV, many people like the C30 this car, I can put it on the car, the key is whether this integrated electrification system is not mature enough.

Q: Does this mean that all future Volvo models can be converted into electric or hybrid models?

Peter Mertens: This is true. In fact, any of our models can be made into electric cars or plug-in hybrids in the future. And we don't think of electric cars or hybrid cars as some special models. In fact, they may become our main models in the future. This is not only strategic, but also the same on the production line, including all electric cars and hybrids that are co-produced with traditional models.

Shen Feng: Electric vehicles in the market today, plug-in hybrid vehicles, basically are improved in the original traditional car. However, the next generation of Volvo's new energy vehicles will be designed in advance with what is needed for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. It is brand new, not retrofitted in conventional vehicles.