Going it alone on new model development is a costly endeavor even for large automotive groups – and practically out of the question for smaller manufacturers.
Volvo until now has built all of its models around the platforms and powertrains from its former owner Ford. Now it is seeking a new partner to jointly develop its next generation of compact models.
Currently owned by Chinese carmaker Geely, Volvo recorded an impressive 20 percent increase in sales last year. Still, with some 450,000 units, it remains a small player in the global automotive industry, thus the need for cost sharing on new model development.
“We are open for partners”, Volvo’s CEO Stefan Jacoby told the Financial Times. “We are open for collaboration in a win-win situation for sharing platforms, for sharing engines, and for a general higher scale of economics.”
Under the 2010 deal between Ford and Geely, the former would continue to provide platforms and components to Volvo for an (undisclosed) time after the sale. Its current compact car is the Focus-based three-door C30, which will be joined by the new V40 five-door compact hatch that’s scheduled to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
Jacoby said that even though “no decisions have been made yet”, he did have some potential partners in mind. Volvo’s CEO wants to double Volvo’s annual production to 800,000 units by 2020. To achieve this goal, the company is currently building two new plants in China.
To cut down costs the Swedish carmaker is slashing its engine line-up from 10 units down to just two turbocharged four-cylinders, one gasoline and one diesel, reducing unique engine parts by an impressive 60 percent.
It will also build its all its bigger models on the new Scalable Platform Architecture, a modular structure that will allow for significant savings on development, tooling and assembly costs.
PHOTO GALLERY
