Volvo's prized top models take pole position during Nobel Week 2017

Volvo Cars, as an official partner of the Nobel Foundation since 2016, provided 30 luxury sedans for Nobel Week 2017 in Stockholm from Dec 6-12 - the glittering period of lectures, press conferences and other events culminating in the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony and the Nobel Banquet.

Volvo XC90, XC60 and Chinese-made S90 Excellence Lounge served Nobel laureates and VIPs.

Among the vehicles provided to Nobel Week, the S90 Excellence Lounge completed its maiden service as the world's first three-seater sedan with exclusively presidential and luxurious appointments.

"We are very honored to have the S90 Excellence Lounge serve the world's top scientists and innovative talent," said Yuan Xiaolin, senior vice-president for Asia Pacific at Volvo Car Group. He is also president and CEO of Volvo Car Asia Pacific.

"The unparalleled Chinese-made luxury model that dazzled in Nobel Week will promote our top-level luxury products to the world," he continued.

The company said it was honored to share knowledge and stories about Nobel Week and the laureates - creating contexts that make people think, experiment and challenge, for the reason that both have won the highest honors in their respective fields through innovation.

It is believed their partnership will accelerate Volvo Cars' push in China to go for more luxury and go upmarket, and the Volvo S90 Excellence Lounge is said to be a first step in that direction.

In China, Volvo's largest market, sales continued to increase rapidly in November, compared with the same month last year, surging 24.1 percent to 11,259 cars. The locally produced S90, S60L and XC60 models continued to be the main growth drivers, Volvo said.

The Asia-Pacific region as a whole was Volvo's fastest growing region in November, up 17.6 percent compared with a year ago.

Nordic prestige

The Nobel laureates' scientific breakthroughs in their fields are said to be dedicated to making life better for humanity. Inheriting the original Scandinavian tradition of excellence, the Nobel Foundation encourages bold innovation and respects values for "the greatest benefit of mankind."

The S90 Excellence Lounge, as one of the official cars of Nobel Week, demonstrated Volvo excellence in this prestigious context. The bold innovations in the S90 Excellence Lounge are forged to deliver peerless luxury experiences and exclusive enjoyment to distinguished users.

The Sweden-headquartered company is dedicated to promoting true Scandinavian design, by creating innovative and safe Volvo cars. Over the past 90 years, Volvo Car Group has kept faith in its themes "designed around you" and "technologies benefit people".

The S90 Excellence Lounge perfectly matched the social status of the guests and VIPs during the Nobel Week events.

A user may perceive the S90 Excellence Lounge to be more than an innovative vehicle, but rather an art work generating a quiet and individualized private space. He or she can feel as relaxed as being at home, and find relief from dull and tiring trips.

The S90 Excellence Lounge is the world's first three-seater sedan, whose cabin was designed as an extraordinary first-class space inspired by private jet cabins, with bold innovations breaking conventional definitions for luxurious mobility.

The Volvo S90 Excellence Lounge has only three seats; one for the driver and two individual seats in the rear. The breakthrough of the three-seater interior design offers exclusive rear-compartment space.

With an understanding of interior spaces beyond the traditionally refraining wheelbase, the automaker removed the front passenger seat, and replaced it with a design form that Volvo calls a "lounge console".

The console includes a foot rest, shoe box, and a 12.9-inch large tablet computer built into a chrome frame, which can be folded away for a commanding view for the distinguished rear passenger.

The armrest is fitted with a folding tray table with a keyboard and air conditioning controls, and two crystal glasses can be heated or cooled. In between the seats sits a small refrigerator to keep the drinks and ice cold. The entire cabin is clad in the finest leather and wood.

Focusing on the exclusive experience in the rear lounge, high-tech equipment is at the fingertips of passengers, and everything is under control. The Volvo S90 Excellence Lounge also has an edge-to-edge panoramic sunroof, dubbed a "moonroof", which offers a view outside that the automaker says is almost as inspiring as the view inside.

Besides innovative safety technologies, the car delivers pure Scandinavian spirit that provides "care around you", thanks to its eco-friendly plug-in hybrid power.

The sedan is powered by the Volvo T8 high-performance plug-in hybrid powertrain that perfectly combines an electric motor with a T6 combustion engine. The powertrain, with a peak torque of 640 Newton meters, helps the car accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers an hour in 5.2 seconds, and lowers the fuel consumption to 2.3 liters every 100 km.

The plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is capable of running 50 km in pure electric mode and meeting the daily needs of commuters.

The industry-leading T8 high-performance plug-in hybrid powertrain is not only Volvo's answer to the future of electric mobility, but also convincing proof of Nordic innovation and persistence in the push towards uncompromising power and care of the environment.

haoyan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 12/14/2017 page12)