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Making its world premiere today at the Shanghai Auto Show is the new Volvo Concept Universe, a study for a luxury sedan model that also provides a peek at the Swedish automaker’s future design language.

While Volvo did not release any technical details on the Concept Universe, the fact that it measures less than 5 meters in length points at a design study for a replacement for the firm’s S80 sedan and not a larger, Mercedes-Benz S-Class rival that the Swedish company’s Chinese owner Geely has been recently talking about.

Volvo released a teaser video of its upcoming Concept Universe, without giving out any additional information other than that it's a new design study that will be launched shortly. This means it could debut at one of this month's international auto shows, either in New York (April 22 – May 1) or Shanghai (April 21 – 28). Taking into account the fact that Volvo is owned by China’s Geely, the Shanghai show could be the more probable venue of the two for the new Volvo. Read more »

One of the major fears consumers have regarding electric vehicles, besides range anxiety, is how these cars are going to function in rough weather conditions. We all know batteries are sensitive to extreme temperatures, which can affect their capacity of storing electricity.

This is why Volvo is trying out its C30 Electric model in the north of Sweden, inside the Arctic Circle. Temperatures as low as -20 degrees Celsius are something normal in this part of the world, so Volvo engineers want to ensure the battery-powered car runs smoothly even in harsh environments.

Last month, we told you about Volvo's plans to reveal an almost production-ready diesel-electric hybrid version of the V60 at the Geneva Salon in March. Today, the Swedish automaker released a full set of photos and additional information on its Plug-in Hybrid, which will be launched in the market in 2012.

Pegged as the world's first diesel plug-in hybrid, the eco-friendly V60 is the result of close co-operation between Volvo Cars and Swedish energy supplier Vattenfall, and it promises to offer low fuel consumption and CO2 levels, combined with long range and high performance.

After improving a previous world speed record for the standing kilometer in June 2010 with a diesel model, Volvo Trucks is now developing a new diesel-electric hybrid version called "Mean Green" to claim the title of the World's Fastest Hybrid Truck in spring 2011.

A well known Swedish truck racing ace, Boije Ovebrink, is going to be the one to drive the hybrid and he's already very confident of a positive outcome. "I'd go so far as to say that 'Mean Green' is the world's fastest hybrid truck," Mr. Ovebrink said.

With even the likes of Porsche going green – not to mention the Chevrolet Volt or the Nissan Leaf, it's no surprise that Volvo wants a piece of the "Look at me, I'm saving the planet!" action.

They partnered up with Powercell Sweden AB (with backing from the Swedish Energy Agency) and hope that the Volvo C30 DRIVe Electric will be ready for testing on the road by 2012.

Here's our second part on the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show's "Design Challenge" with futuristic-looking lightweight concept models from Mercedes, Nissan, Smart, Toyota and Volvo. For the first group of concept studies, click here to check out our previous post.