| Volvo Buses has sold the body plant in Turku, Finland. The sale is part of the company’s efforts to enhance the efficiency of the European operations. |
| Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) will move the majority of its motor grader activities currently located in Goderich, Ontario, Canada, to the company’s facility in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, USA. Volvo CE will incur an estimated restructuring cost of approximately 45 MUSD, which will be recorded in the third quarter of 2008. |
| Volvo Trucks is taking measures to downsize capacity in its European production system to meet the declining demand for trucks in the European market. As a consequence, the company will initiate negotiations with the unions regarding staffing level cutbacks of approximately 1,400 employees at the company’s plants in Ghent in Belgium, and Gothenburg and Umeå in Sweden. A cost-reduction plan will also be implemented to meet the lower sales levels and increasing raw material cost. |
| For the first time there is now a commercially viable hybrid bus on the market, the Volvo 7700 Hybrid. With up to 30% lower fuel consumption and hybrid components from Volvo, bus operators can earn a payback on the extra cost in only five to seven years. |
| Volvo Aero Services Corp and The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] have extended a marketing and distribution partnership agreement, originally established in 1999, for an additional 10 years. Within the agreement, Volvo Aero Services will continue to provide multiple asset management services to support the distribution of quality aircraft parts for a wide range of Boeing aircraft models. In addition, Volvo Aero Services has been awarded the rights to manufacture and distribute Boeing proprietary parts. |
| The Volvo Group has once again qualified for inclusion on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index of the world’s foremost companies in sustainable development. Volvo is one of the few Swedish companies included on both the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and the Dow Jones STOXX Sustainability Index (DJSI STOXX). |
| The Volvo Group is now introducing the fourth-generation hybrid solution on a broad front in buses, trucks and construction equipment.
“Our hybrid solution for heavy vehicles is completely different from anything that has existed in the market to date,” says Leif Johansson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Volvo Group. “As a result of our volumes and resources, we have succeeded in developing a more standardized platform solution, which is a prerequisite for the hybrid technology’s ability to have a widespread commercial impact in the market for heavy vehicles. |
| Total deliveries of trucks from the Volvo Group’s five truck companies in August amounted to 14,849, which is an increase of 4%, compared with the year-earlier period. |
| Olof Persson, 44, will assume the position as president of Volvo Construction Equipment on November 1, 2008. He replaces Tony Helsham, 54, who will remain in the Volvo Group Executive Committee with a responsibility to support the growth of soft products in the Group. Olof Persson is currently president of Volvo Aero. He will, as of the same date, be replaced by Staffan Zackrisson, who is presently head of Marketing, Programs and Sales in Volvo Aero. |
| The Volvo Group is the coordinator for the European project BioDME, which is starting its work today. BioDME is a unique cooperative project involving the automotive industry as well as fuel producers and distributors regarding the fuel DME. The project will demonstrate the entire technology chain, from biomass to trucks powered by DME fuel, including fuel distribution and filling stations. |