Volvo Design Teams Observe Global Trends

Camarillo and Barcelona design centers give the automaker a wider perspective

Volvo C30 Concept Car

Volvo designers understand the importance of maintaining a wide footprint. Design teams in southern California and Spain are on alert for emerging trends that need to be on the company’s radar.

Volvo’s Monitoring and Concept Center in Camarillo, California uses a cross-functional approach. Designers and engineers work side by side in the wind tunnel. Their efforts produced the Environmental Concept Car that became the first S80, and the first safety concept car that evolved into the current C30.

The Strategic Design Center in Barcelona is the yin to Southern California’s yang. While roads in the western US are wide and straight, Europe’s streets are narrow and winding. Many of Volvo’s small car concepts originate in Barcelona. Read the rest of this entry »