Volvo Car UK takes first Social Media steps

The world is changing at Volvo. Ask the 'man in the street' what comes to mind when he thinks about Volvo and, like any brand, you'll get a diversity of answers. However, the responses for Volvo are changing. Fewer and fewer respondents would talk about large estate cars and 'a car my Dad had'. More and more, the Volvo brand is being associated with cutting-edge design, an environmental conscience and innovative safety. Don't just take the PR man's word for it, I've got the proof if needed!

And along with this change in perception comes an opportunity to reach out to a changing audience. Previously on my blog, you'll have read how Volvo has employed the services of Mindshare to assist us with the task of Social Media and Digital PR

http://torquetalking.blogspot.com/2009/04/new-media-news.html

And that decision caused a bit of a stir –

http://torquetalking.blogspot.com/2009/05/right-to-reply-media-agencies-muscle-in.html

Well, now the dust has settled, we are ready to embark on the journey. Like any business that takes the first steps into this new world, the advances need to be small and measured in the first instance to prove you're doing the right thing and taking others with you. After all, setting off in the wrong direction could spell disaster, and you'd spend time and money just getting back to where you started.

But where to start? The opportunity to make a bit of a splash in this new world seems like a good starting point, as does the ability, with this splash, to monitor the reaction and compare and contrast the reaction to that of the traditional media world that we're all familiar with.

So, keep a look out at 20:00 next Monday 8 June 2009 for an announcement that, I believe, reinforces the reasons why the perceptions of Volvo are changing. Stay tuned.

Driving the Volvo S60 Concept - virtually.

Volvo is giving an insight into the driving characteristics of the Volvo S60 Concept with the release of an innovative new PC-based racing challenge called Volvo - The Game. Available to download for free now from www.volvocars.co.uk/S60concept, it features five of Volvo's racing legends as well as the new Volvo S60 Concept. The game has been developed between Volvo Car Corporation and multiple award-winning Swedish game studio, the SimBin Development Team.

The six cars include the new Volvo S60 Concept, the Volvo C30 currently competing in the STCC (Swedish Touring Car Championship), the previous Volvo S60 that competed in the STCC, the Volvo S40 that notched up many notable successes in the BTCC (British Touring Car Championship), the Volvo 850 - the estate car that became a legend in the BTCC - and finally a true racing classic from the past, a Volvo 240 Turbo Group A.

Players select their favourite Volvo to test their skills on one of the two highly authentic tracks. The two tracks are the Gothenburg Eco Drive Arena in Sweden and Chayka outside Kiev in the Ukraine. Volvo - The Game is the only virtual racing game in the world to feature the Ukrainian racing track.

Volvo - The Game in detail
A team of 15-20 people worked together to create Volvo - The Game with the aim of making it as realistic as possible. The game developers have invested tens of thousands of hours in getting all the details exactly right. Just "building" a car for a racing game takes about one month.
As is the case with the real cars, the six cars in this game each have different driving characteristics. The classic Volvo 240 Turbo Group A, for instance, handles very differently when compared with the latest newcomer, the Volvo S60 Concept. In order to recreate the older cars' interiors as authentically as possible, the designers visited the Volvo Museum to study the former racing legends.

To add further authenticity, game engineers also pulled one of the race cars out of hibernation and gave it a thorough full-speed workout, recording the engine sound straight from the racing track.

The two racing tracks have been reproduced with detail and immense precision. It takes about 1000 hours to create a virtual racing track. Even the kerbs are exactly the same height as the real track.

Volvo - The Game can be played with a steering wheel and pedals connected to the computer. It is also possible to operate the car via the PC's keyboard or with a game-pad. The game offers a choice of skill levels: "novice" with all the driver assistance technology activated such as ABS brakes, the next level up is "semi-pro", and finally "pro" where there is no assistance whatsoever.

Yet more awards for Volvo XC60

The Volvo XC60 crossover has been named ‘SUV of the Year' at the 2009 Fleet World Honours. This is Volvo's second consecutive appearance on the annual winners' list, after the XC60's ground-breaking City Safety won the Technology Category last year.

"This is a great achievement for Volvo and further evidence of our commitment to designing and building company cars that feature innovative technology, yet remain true to our core values of quality and safety," commented John Wallace, Corporate Sales & Leasing Manager for Volvo Car UK.

The Volvo XC60 was launched last November and, in addition to the Fleet World Honours accolade, the car was also awarded the What Car? SUV of the Year at the magazine's 2009 Awards. It fuses SUV-like toughness and practicality with coupé style and driving dynamics and also features the ‘world first' new safety technology, City Safety. City Safety eliminates the possibility of crashing into the car in front at in-town speeds of up to 9 mph and lowers the risk of crashes below 19 mph, reducing injury (especially whiplash) and cutting repair costs.

The recent introduction of front-wheel drive and the new 2.4D engine to the XC60 also sees fuel consumption improve up to 47.1 mpg and CO2 emission figures tumble to 159 g/km - ensuring the model benefits from a 20 per cent Capital Allowance rate following the introduction of new rules earlier this year. The new rules result in lower whole life costs for companies, while drivers of these lower emission vehicles are rewarded with reduced Benefit in Kind (BIK) tax bills.

The Fleet World Honours are presented annually to those motor manufacturers, service companies and individuals who have, in the opinion of the judges, achieved the highest possible level of excellence in their sector.

The judging panel is chaired by industry professional George Emmerson, who has managed fleets at IBM, NHBC and Black Horse Agencies. Other members of the judging panel include Ken Rogers, John Kendall and Ross Durkin from Fleet World's editorial team, and fleet manager Jackie Pomfrett.

George said: "Based on a three-year/20,000 mile per year profile, CAP predicts the XC60 2.4D and D5 SE versions will retain 44% of cost new, while EurotaxGlass's predicts the 2.4D SE will retain 46% of its cost. A 47% residual is estimated for the D5 SE - so residuals promise to be best in sector."

Fleet World's Managing Editor Ross Durkin added: "Despite the difficult economic conditions, we had a tremendous number of entries in this year's Fleet World Honours - a sign not only of the significance of the awards themselves, but also of the tremendous level of service, innovation and competition that exist within the fleet industry today. Those who have won can be justifiably proud of their achievement."

Volvo reveals full scrappage scheme details

• All models in the highly specified, safe and environmentally conscious Volvo range are available through the Government's Scrappage Scheme
  
• Volvo Car UK goes the extra mile by giving customers an offer over-and-above the Government £1,000 contribution
  
• Scrappage Scheme offers also available across Volvo's low CO2-emitting DRIVe range, including Start/Stop models, the XC60 front-wheel drive 2.4D and new S80 executive saloon
  

Following Volvo Car UK's confirmation of its participation in the Government's Scrappage Scheme, Volvo is pleased to announce further details of the additional support offering which will be available across all models, engines and trim levels in the range.

Customers purchasing a car through the Scrappage Scheme can benefit from the Government's £1,000 payment which Volvo will match. This £2,000, combined with extra support from Volvo, will enable customers to drive away a new Volvo C30 1.6 R-DESIGN with £3,849 off the list price.

These support offers are available across the range including all the DRIVe-badged models. Customers looking to lower their environmental impact can purchase a C30 DRIVe with Start/Stop with a contribution from the Government and Volvo Car UK totalling £4,027. The S40 DRIVe S with Start/Stop features a total saving of £4,377.

And the offers are not just available on the smaller models. Customers can drive away a new Volvo S80 DRIVe SE with a saving of £5,210 off the list price, while the Volvo XC60 2.4D DRIVe is available with a £4,640 saving. On an XC90 seven-seat SUV, that saving becomes an astonishing £6,841.

With the DRIVe cars' excellent environmental performance, the driver also benefits from other financial incentives. The C30, S40 and V50 DRIVe models with Start/Stop all qualify for £35 per annum VED band thanks to the ultra-low CO2 output of 104 g/km, while an impressive fuel consumption figure of up to 72.4 mpg on a combined cycle enables the cars to run up to 800 miles on a full tank of fuel.

The Volvo V70 and S80 DRIVe models come equipped with the 1.6-litre diesel engine with specially-tailored engine software and modified gear ratios in third, fourth and fifth. The optimised powertrain helps Volvo's larger cars significantly cut their fuel consumption and CO2 emissions up to 57.6 mpg and 129 g/km respectively (preliminary figures). The Volvo XC60 and XC70, in their new front-wheel drive guise and mated to the new 2.4D engine, offer emissions of just 159 g/km and fuel consumption up to 47.1 mpg.

Crucially, these CO2 figures enable all the Volvo DRIVe models to fall below the 160 g/km threshold for the Capital Write Down Allowance. As a result, company car drivers will benefit significantly from lower Benefit-in-Kind taxation bills. All models are also covered by Volvo's comprehensive 3 year/60,000 mile warranty.

Customers with an eligible car can visit any participating authorised Volvo dealer and the incentive payment is available on any new model in the Volvo range. Along with the extra support, Volvo proves that high specification, safety and being environmentally conscious doesn't need to break the bank.