2006 Volvo S40 2.4i on 2040-cars

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Volvo working to allow groceries delivered to your car, even when you aren't there

Volvo cites research showing that 60 percent of online shoppers had problems with their deliveries in 2013, and that missed first deliveries cost the industry roughly one billion euros ($1.37B US) in re-delivery costs, as impetus for its "Roam Delivery Service" that delivers packages to your car. The service uses Volvo On Call and Sensus Connect car-connectivity and telematics apps already installed in vehicles, and a digital key with a timed window of operation.
The car owner is notified if delivery to or pickup from the car would be the best option, which they then have the option to approve or decline. If approved, the position of the vehicle is sent to the delivery driver, as well as a digital key that can open the car. Once the delivery has been made, the owner is notified and the digital key is erased, leaving only a time stamp to record when the car was opened and then locked.
The technology will be shown to the public at the Mobile World Congress later this month. There's a video and a press release below with more on the details.

US could get Chinese Volvos soon, possibly Geely joint-venture subcompact?

After a little more than three years since Volvo was acquired by China's Geely, it was only a matter of time before products from this marriage started to show up in the US. Although nothing seems to be written in stone, Automotive News is reporting that the US could be getting Chinese-made Volvos sooner rather than later.
In speaking with AN, Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson said that Chinese Volvos could be exported to the US "fairly quickly," and while there was no word on any specific models being considered, the article points out that the S60 (shown above) is already being produced locally in China at a Volvo plant. Another possibility is the next-gen V40, which has reportedly received plenty of support from US Volvo dealers. Regardless of which model it is, Samuelsson doesn't seem too worried about a "Made in China" car receiving a negative reaction by US consumers, pointing to all the other Chinese products sold here.
On a global scale, AN is also reporting that Geely is working on a new subcompact platform co-developed with Volvo to compete against cars like the Honda Fit, Ford Fiesta and VW Polo. There is no word as to whether or not this Geely-branded model would be coming to the US, but just last year, we heard that the Chinese automaker is looking to break into the US market by 2016.

Volvo to use Oz as test bed for more Polestar models?

We've already told you about the slightly more awesome version of the Volvo S60 that our friends Down Under can now get their hands on. And according to Aussie site Drive.com.au, Volvo may look to the land of Oz for future testing of new, Polestar-tuned, high-performance models.
Volvo has reportedly confirmed that this S60 Polestar run will be an exercise in testing the acceptance of the Swedish tuner's presence as a proper competitor for things like BMW's M division or Mercedes-Benz's AMG. (A tall order, for sure.) "The world is watching this exercise with much interest," Volvo Cars Australia boss, Matt Braid, told Drive.com.au.
Hans Baath, Polestar Managing Director, reportedly hinted that the tuning house had already begun work on a hotter version of the V40 hatchback, but the project was scrapped in order to get the S60 program rolling. If there's success to be found here, this smaller hot hatch could be revisited, as well as a more powerful version of the XC60 crossover.