In addition to the Volvo V70 and S80, the other DRIVe models with emissions below 120 g/km consist of the Volvo C30 (99 g/km), Volvo S40 (104 g/km) and Volvo V50 (104 g/km).
Volvo has employed two techniques to reduce CO2 emissions from the previous 129 g/km (4.9 l/100 km) to 119 g/km (4.5 l/100 km). The techniques include ‘intelligent battery recharging’, whereby the control system only allows the alternator to charge the battery when the engine is operating at low load, for instance when driving downhill, and reduced friction for the belt that drives the alternator and air conditioning compressor.
The redesign of the tensioner pulley and alternator pulley results in lower fuel consumption and lower emissions, the company said.
Volvo claimed that the reduction in fuel consumption from 4.9 l/100 km (mixed driving cycle) to 4.5 l/100 km means that someone driving 15,000 km a year will save 60 litres of diesel. Translated into carbon dioxide emissions, the saving is 150 kg over a year.
Stephen Odell, president and CEO of Volvo Cars, said: ”There has been a swift pace of development since the launch of our first 119g models in Paris in autumn 2008. Now that we have brought two of the larger models in below the magical 120 g/km limit, few of our competitors can now match us when it comes to offering customers an extensive range of low emission cars.”
