Volvo Cars has built the four millionth car on its groundbreaking first-generation Scalable Product Architecture* (SPA). Debuting in 2014 with the second-generation Volvo XC90, SPA laid the foundation for the modern Volvo brand of today. It transformed the company’s production by allowing diverse models, powertrains, and technologies to be built on a shared architecture and assembly line, significantly cutting costs.
SPA is the product of a proudly Swedish-led R&D effort, designed and developed in-house. Since its inception, it has underpinned six different models, produced across three continents and in four countries: Belgium, China, Sweden and the US.
The milestone car, a Volvo XC90, recently rolled off the production line at the company’s plant in Sweden.
“SPA spearheaded our company’s rebirth as a modern and premium brand,” says Michael Fleiss, chief strategy and product officer of Volvo Cars. “To this day, it remains the foundation for some of the most successful Volvo models in history and it continues to reach new heights as we further improve on it.”
As Volvo Cars celebrates this milestone, the company also highlights the many benefits that the flexibility of SPA has delivered to customers worldwide.
SPA introduced several world-first safety features that helped make the XC90 and later models some of the safest cars in the world. The list includes features such as the run-off road protection package, and the auto brake function at intersections. Another example is the safety cage, which was further improved thanks to an increased use of high-strength boron steel. Many of these features continue to be enhanced, ensuring that Volvo customers benefit from them – both now and in the future.
In addition, the platform gave the design team greater creative freedom, resulting in the striking and now-signature ‘Thor’s Hammer’ running lights. It also introduced the groundbreaking ‘Twin Engine’, a combination of petrol power and electric propulsion that is still being used in Volvo’s plug-in hybrid models today.
Looking ahead, key insights from SPA will be carried forward into the SPA2 and upcoming SPA3 platforms, continuing to shape and power the Volvo cars of tomorrow. And with over-the-air software updates, many of the SPA-based cars on the road continue to receive upgrades to this day, free of charge.
The small print
*Refers to first-generation SPA platform only and does not include cars produced on SPA2 platform.
The Volvo XC60, the company’s current best-selling model, is based on the first-generation SPA platform, with additional production set to begin at the Charleston plant in the US next year. The other current models produced on the platform are the S60, V60, S90 and XC90.
Volvo Cars in 2024
For the full year 2024, Volvo Car Group recorded a record-breaking core operating profit of SEK 27 billion. Revenue in 2024 amounted to an all-time high of SEK 400.2 billion, while global sales reached a record 763,389 cars.
About Volvo Car Group
Volvo Cars was founded in 1927. Today, it is one of the most well-known and respected car brands in the world with sales to customers in more than 100 countries. Volvo Cars is listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange, where it is traded under the ticker “VOLCAR B”.
“For life. To give people the freedom to move in a personal, sustainable and safe way.” This purpose is reflected in Volvo Cars’ ambition to become a fully electric car maker and in its commitment to an ongoing reduction of its carbon footprint, with the ambition to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.
As of December 2024, Volvo Cars employed approximately 42,600 full-time employees. Volvo Cars’ head office, product development, marketing and administration functions are mainly located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo Cars’ production plants are located in Gothenburg, Ghent (Belgium), South Carolina (US), Chengdu, Daqing and Taizhou (China). The company also has R&D and design centres in Gothenburg and Shanghai (China).
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Author: Michelle Muir from Have Your Say on behalf of Volvo Car South Africa.
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