Sweden. Volvo Car Corporation
| Date of agreement: | 01 Sep 2016 |
|---|---|
| Country: | Sweden |
| Customer: | Volvo Car Corporation |
| Amount in SEK: | SEK 1,000 million |
| Amount in EUR: | EUR 104.7 million |
| Maturity: | 5 years |
| NACE sector / loan type: | Manufacture of other transport equipment |
Project
The loan has been provided to finance the R&D investments of the Volvo Car Corporation during 2016–2019.
The main focus of the company’s research activities will be on the development of new modular engine technology. The project aims at improving vehicle performance and fuel economy.
The Volvo Car Corporation has been in operation since 1927. Today, Volvo Cars is one of the most-well known car brands in the world. In 2015, the company sold 503,127 cars in about 100 countries during 2015. Volvo Cars has been under the ownership of the Zhejiang Geely Holding (Geely Holding) of China since 2010.
Fulfilment of NIB's mandate
Volvo Cars is an important contributor to R&D activities in the automotive sector. The company operates a research centre in Gothenburg, and has cooperation agreements with a number of Swedish universities and several other research institutes. The R&D project is expected to contribute to more efficient production and skill development in the automotive cluster in Sweden, which is a significant sector in the national economy. Further, notable spill-over effects in the Nordic region are anticipated through skills transfer.
The R&D programme intends to reduce the environmental impact of Volvo vehicles in order to comply with future environmental regulations.
Sustainability summary
The key environmental issue of this project concerns the risk of Volvo Cars applying “cycle beating” systems in car testing to temporarily improve the nitrogen oxide emissions of its vehicles. However, there are no indications that Volvo Cars has ever deliberately reported incorrect emission levels for their cars.
