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“This car demonstrates our commitment to our recycled plastics ambition and how, together with our supply base, we can make it without compromising on quality and design,” senior vice president from Volvo procurement, Martina Buchhauser, says.
The company clarified this statement on their official blog: “Volvo is continually seeking new ways to reduce our environmental impact across the board. We are demonstrating our intention by building a demo version of the XC60 T8 plug-in hybrid, which made its debut at the Ocean Summit, at the Volvo Ocean Race Gothenburg Stopover.”
The Ocean Race’s focus on sustainability is in partnership with the United Nations Environment’s Clean Seas campaign, which encourages individuals, governments and businesses to “Turn the Tide on Plastic”.
The specially-built version of the model XC60 looks almost identical to the existing one but has had over 60 kilos of its plastic parts replaced with parts made of recycled materials.
Some of the recycled plastic parts include the tunnel console that runs down the centre of the front seats, made from renewable fibres and plastics from discarded fishing nets and maritime ropes. The seats are sewn from two different kinds of textiles, which are made from recycled plastic bottles. The vacuum reservoir under the bonnet, which helps to regulate the turbo engine pressure, is made of recycled fabrics from airbags.
The new Volvo initiative is one of the most progressive steps any automotive manufacturer has taken so far.
