Volvo set to unleash fastest-accelerating model, EX30

Premium automaker, Volvo, is set to unveil EX30, an electric model with the fastest-accelerating performance.

The vehicle is coming with a 0-62mph time of 3.6sec in top-spec Twin Motor Performance form.
The model is expected to be a cornerstone of the Swedish brand’s reinvention as an electric-only manufacturer to attract new, younger urban buyers.
Chief executive Jim Rowan says the intention is to “bring premium, fully electric mobility to a much broader audience”.

It will sit underneath the existing XC40 Recharge and C40 Recharge models.

Focus buyers
Volvo expects three-quarters of EX30 buyers will be new to the brand, with the majority buying it as a second car.

Exterior
According to a preview of the vehicle by AutoCar, the EX30 has a clear family resemblance to the flagship EX90 large SUV that was revealed last year, with a closed-off grille and Volvo’s signature ‘Thor’s Hammer’ headlights.
The EX30 is the fourth model to be revealed in the firm’s electric line-up, although it will actually go on sale before the flagship EX90, which was revealed last year.
The car will come with wheels ranging from 18in to 20in and in five colours, including a new Moss Yellow inspired by lichen that grows on rocks on Sweden’s west coast.

Interior
The interior builds on Volvo’s traditional design form, with the dashboard dominated by a 12.3in vertically mounted touchscreen.
The infotainment runs Volvo’s Google-based system, which is compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Instead of the traditional door-mounted speakers, a home audio-style soundbar runs across the full width of the dashboard.

Four interior designs – termed ‘rooms’ by Volvo – will be offered, all using different recyclable and renewable materials, including one that has upcycled denim fibre in the dashboard.

Volvo says that EX30’s chassis has been tuned for nimble driving in urban environments, with a low centre of gravity and an even weight distribution.

Reduced CO2 footprint

The auto firm says the machine has the smallest lifetime carbon footprint of any Volvo model to date and doesn’t compromise on its famed commitment to safety.
The reduced CO2 footprint – which Volvo says is below 30 tonnes over 124,000 miles of driving – covers both production and operation.

This, it says, has been achieved in part through a body that contains 25% recycled aluminium, 17% recycled steel and 17% recycled plastic.
You will also find state-of-the-art restraint systems and a raft of driver assistance systems.
They include a new Park Pilot Assist function that can help identify parking spots and operate in a wider range of spaces.

Digital tech
The firm has continued to put a major focus on digital technology, with a bespoke app that offers systems such as a digital key and remote-operated heating.
Two trim levels – Plus and Ultra – will be offered in the UK at launch and provide a high level of standard features.

Production
The EX30 will go into production later this year at Volvo’s Zhangjiakou plant in China and is now available to order in the UK, mainland Europe and selected other markets.
It will also be offered in the US, where it can now be pre-ordered.

Night travels, overloading our major headache – FRSC

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says overloading and night travels have remained some of the problems confronting the agency.
Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Dauda Biu, said this in a statement on Sunday.
He was reacting to a June 02 accident along Kano-Ringim Road Kano State in which 18 people died and 12 others were injured.
Biu, a statement by the Corps Public Education Officer (CPEO) Assistant Corps Marshal (ACM) Bisi Kazeem, said the crash occured at 20:35hrs in Zakirai town, Kano-Ringim Road, and involved two commercial vehicles, a Volkswagen Sharon, overloaded with children and a Toyota bus also overloaded.
“To add to it, the Sharon engaged in dangerous and wrongful overtaking,” he added
Biu said that all hands must be on deck to ensure that overloading is reduced to the barest minimum, if not completely avoided.
The FRSC boss cautioned “motorists against dangerous overtaking, overloading and night travels across the country.”

The corps marshal also called for patience and collective vigilance on the roads to avoid unnecessary and unwarranted road accidents that could claim lives and properties.
He said the “FRSC is committed to ensuring safer road environments stating that adequate number of personnel and logistics are on the road for effective traffic management and rescue operations across the country.”
He also appealed to members of the public to contact the FRSC call centre through the toll-free line (122) in the event of a road crash and other emergencies for a prompt response.
He also said that all FRSC facilities remained open and functional to attend to members of the public.

Govs Otti, Inuwa join Soludo using Nigeria-made vehicles as official cars

Newly sworn in Abia State Governor Dr Alex Otti has become one of the few Nigerian governors using Nigeria-assembled vehicles as official cars.

At his inauguration on Monday, May 29, Otti rode in an Innoson-badged vehicle, to the admiration of many people at the event.

Like his Abia counterpart, Governor Inuwa Yahaya also unveiled (Innoson vehicle) as his official car during his inauguration at Patami Stadium in Gombe.

The two governors have thus joined Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, who had earlier made history as the first of the current state governors to have been driven to the inauguration ground in a Nigeria-assembled luxury SUV.

Although the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari in an executive order directed government officials and offices to patronise vehicles assembled in Nigeria, many have ignored the presidential directive.

In the past, many Nigerian presidents, state governors and government functionaries were fond of using vehicles from the nation’s auto factories. Peugeot Automobile of  Nigeria supplied most of the classy vehicles used by top government officials then.