VOLVO AT THE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY VEHICLE CONFERENCE
15 November 2005 - Volvo Cars

During a speech¹ at The Environmentally Friendly Vehicle Conference² in Birmingham on 11th November, Gerry Keaney, Volvo Car Corporation''s senior vice president of sales, marketing and service, stated that:

The key issue for controlling and reducing CO2 emissions is the need to overcome the many political, economic, social and behavioural barriers – as well as an under-developed infrastructure and low demand.

Volvo Cars believes that the introduction of the European Biofuel directive is essential in order to introduce alternative fuels on a wider scale and welcomes the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation in the UK announced by Alistair Darling at the EFV conference yesterday.

Incentives and tax deductions are necessary to kick start the market for low emissions vehicles – eg. Sweden offers up to a 40 per cent tax deduction on company cars powered by alternative fuels and powertrains.

A co-ordinated approach by all stakeholders is essential to make environmentally friendly cars successful – eg, ''Biogas Cities'' project in Sweden.

Volvo has had a range of Bi-Fuel cars for 10 years, but lack of co-operation and infrastructure has made market growth a constant uphill struggle.

Only one percent of Volvo Bi-Fuel customers claim the environment as their main reason for buying, while more than 85 per cent base their choice on economy (fuel costs).

To boost the demand for alternative fuels environmental cars must be cool and desirable to consumers – eg, Volvo''s 3CC sustainable mobility concept car.

www.volvocars.co.uk

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