Volvo Cars has announced that it aims to sell a total of up to one million electrified cars by 2025, an ambitious target driven by Volvo’s strategic sustainability programme, christened ‘Omtanke’.
Omtanke, a Swedish word that means ‘caring’ and ‘consideration’, but also importantly ‘to think again’, summarises Volvo’s commitment about re-thinking sustainability, going beyond cars and into society. Volvo has structured Omtanke on three impact areas: its impact as a company, the impact of its products and its role in society.
Volvo is working towards the traditionally defined sustainability areas of environment, society, people and economic growth. However, as a brand for people that care about other people and the world we live in, Volvo has also added the dimension of safety. To accommodate safety within each of the business impact areas, Volvo has incorporated the three themes of clean, safe and responsible into the Omtanke programme.
Sustainability is nothing new, nor does it sit outside Volvo’s current operations; it forms an integral part of everything it does as a manufacturer. Consequently, the new sustainability commitment reflects the firm’s fundamental belief that it must also grow responsibly.
Volvo’s most recent sustainability announcement focuses on long-term environmental effects, and is one of the automotive industry’s most comprehensive electrification strategies. Volvo has expectations that it will have registered over a million electrified cars by 2025. Volvo’s current range of electrified vehicles contributing to the strategy include the multi award-winning XC90 T8 Twin Engine and D5 and D6 V60 variants – soon to be joined by the new S90 and V90 models.
In terms of current practice, as part of its commitment to addressing the impacts of its products, Volvo’s CleanZone technology is a unique approach to controlling interior air quality and providing a better driving environment through innovative solutions for enhanced wellbeing and health.
The multi-filter was designed especially for Volvo’s SPA platform and first appeared in the all-new XC90. It features a larger design that intercepts more particulates and pollen, as well as a layer of active charcoal that effectively removes a host of contaminants that can impact the health of drivers.
“At Volvo, we know our actions make a difference and we deliberately set ourselves ambitious targets to ensure we’re at the forefront of the industry, comments Jon Wakefield, Volvo Car UK’s Managing Director. “Omtanke is about contributing towards a better society, working to minimise the negative impacts of our business and protecting you and your world.
“We are developing vehicles with improved lifecycle performance and low emissions to ensure they have less impact on the planet, while at the same time promoting the health of people working at Volvo. As a human-centric car company, we reflect on how all of our business decisions will affect and improve people’s lives. This is at the core of our business and of our approach to sustainability.”
Full details of Volvo’s new wide-ranging sustainability commitment can be found in the Volvo Cars Sustainability Report www.volvocars.com/intl/about/our-company/sustainability
