Toyota may be focusing on hybrids and Nissan on electrics, but Volvo is placing its faith in the green car race firmly on Flexifuel.
The Swedish manufacturer has already created and manufactured several new vehicle models that can be used utilising alternative fuels that are less harmful to the environment. At present Volvo has nine models and three of them are already available as bio-ethanol powered vehicles: the Volvo C30, S40 and V50.
According to Magnus Jonsson, the senior vice president of Volvo Cars’ Research and Development team, flexifuel has “great potential for larger engine sizes”. He also admits that the company is planning to expand its range of bio-ethanol powered engines in the coming years.
In addition, Volvo has created the XC60 concept vehicle which uses the same powertrain as the Volvo S80 when it was first introduced in 2006 but has the capacity to run on E85 biofuel without compromising power and performance – it can achieve some 265horsepower with 251lb ft of torque. The vehicle can also run from 0-60mph in 8.2 seconds.
Do you think Volvo is right to put its faith in biofuels or should it look into other green car concepts such as hybrids and electrics? Leave a comment with your thoughts.
