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If there’s one topic that is getting everyone fired up at the moment – not the one beginning with B – it’s climate change. Driving down CO2 emissions, for car brands in particular, is number one on the agenda. But selling low-emission cars and making a profit while doing so don’t always go hand in hand. However, Volvo sees it differently. Just as the company did with safety, the Swedish firm is now trying to ingrain sustainability into its company ethos. And in doing so, it is actively going after a new, younger generation of customers – those who are more climate-conscious. At the launch of the new fully electric XC40 Recharge in California last week, Volvo’s boss, Håkan Samuelsson, kicked off his presentation by talking about the efforts the…

Steve_Fowler@dennis.co.uk ● BMW-sourced 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 for flagship model ● Will deliver luxury and performance with a £100k price tag THE all-new Land Rover Defender was only revealed a few weeks ago, but Auto Express can exclusively reveal that the British firm is planning a range-topping model with V8 power under its bonnet. And it could be landing in showrooms within the next 18 months. A running prototype of the hot Defender already exists at Land Rover’s engineering base in Gaydon, Warwickshire. JLR’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) division is likely to be heavily involved in the vehicle that is set to rival Mercedes-AMG’s iconic 577bhp G63. It’s expected to be called Defender SVR, following the lead of the Range Rover Sport SVR and Range Rover SV-Autobiography cars. Sitting under the…

Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk ● All-electric compact SUV offers 248-mile range ● Marks arrival of new Recharge electrified sub-brand VOLVO has launched its first electric car, called the XC40 Recharge. It’s the vehicle that will kick-start Volvo’s ambition to become a carbon-neutral company by 2040. The electric XC40 heralds the arrival of the Recharge sub-brand, under which all chargeable Volvos – plug-in hybrids, as well as fully-electric vehicles – will now sit. The company will follow up the XC40 with four additional electric vehicles, one per year until 2025, at which point it hopes that EVs will account for 50 percent of all its sales. “We made safety part of our brand, we should do the same with sustainability,” Håkan Samuelsson, Volvo’s chief executive told Auto Express. “It will make our company grow…

VOLVO will axe petrol and hybrid models and become an electric-only car manufacturer in the near future, the company’s boss has revealed. The Swedish firm’s current aim is to have fully electric vehicles account for 50 percent of its global sales by 2025, and is launching a new electric model every 12 months up to that date. Håkan Sammuelson, Volvo’s chief executive, has now said that after 2025 it’s a matter of “when” not “if” the company ditches internal combustion engines and hybrids completely for Volvo to become a purely electric car company. “Really the one who decides will be the customers,” Sammuelson told Auto Express. “We have shown our strategy to electrify, not by doing one car, we did it the expensive way of adopting a new platform so…

Luke_Wilkinson@dennis.co.uk ● Sporty profile for next-generation Skoda hatch ● Full range, including PHEV, hits showrooms in 2020 SKODA has released a pair of design sketches for the next-generation of Octavia hatchback, giving us our first look at the new family car’s styling. The two drawings show that the new Octavia will have a look that brings it into line with the recently facelifted Superb. A new front grille, a pair of updated LED headlamps and a revised bonnet line lead the way, while the hatchback’s profile will evolve over the current model. The extended rear window and rising bodyline are dropped in favour of a more coupé-like appearance. There design shouldn’t hamper boot space, though, thanks to a deeper floor and better packaging, so there is expected to be up…

IT’S no secret that a convertible version of the Lexus LC is on the way, but the Japanese car maker has unintentionally revealed its latest model a little sooner than scheduled. These spy shots of a completely undisguised LC Convertible were taken in Los Angeles during a photoshoot ahead of the car’s official debut. Not only that, but our spy photographers also caught the car in the same area as the LA Convention Center, the location for the annual LA Motor Show and expected venue for the car’s reveal. Although not visible in the images, the LC Convertible will use a retractable hard-top roof that folds away into a stowage area behind the cabin. In spite of this complex and heavy roof mechanism, the LC will retain its 2+2 seating…