Al-Futtaim's Trading Enterprises – Volvo Celebrates 20 Years in the Service of Saving Lives at Volvo Cars Safety Centre

Dubai, UAE, December 16, 2020: Trading Enterprises, the exclusive distributor of Volvo cars in the UAE and part of Al-Futtaim Automotive, has announced that this year marks the 20th anniversary of Volvo Cars Safety Centre. At the time of its opening in 2000, the Centre was one of the most advanced crash labs in the world and in many ways it still is today. On average, it crashes at least one brand-new Volvo a day, and it has been instrumental in preserving Volvo Cars’ position as a leader in automotive safety today.

 
To this very day Volvo Cars Safety Centre helps Volvo Cars engineers to push the envelope in safety and to learn from real-life traffic accidents, as the company aims for a death-free car accidents or less serious human injuries in future accidents when driving a new Volvo vehicle.

Oscar Rivoli, Managing Director of Trading Enterprises – Volvo, said, “The journey towards achieving accident-free roads is an ambitious goal but we must all contribute to realise this vision. As the exclusive distributor of Volvo in the UAE, we are proud to bring to the roads of the UAE some of the world’s safest vehicles which have been setting road safety benchmark for decades. As Volvo Cars Safety centre celebrates two decades in the service of saving lives, the UAE - home of Al-Futtaim’s Trading Enterprises, also has its Vision 2021 to further protect the lives of road users and reduce traffic casualties down to three per 100,000 people.”
  
At the heart of Volvo Cars Safety Centre, a crash lab is a multifunctional facility that allows Volvo Cars safety engineers to recreate countless traffic situations and accidents and perform tests that go beyond regulatory requirements. The lab contains two test tracks, one is 108 metre-long and the second stretches up to 154 metres. The shorter track is moveable and can be positioned at an angle between 0 and 90 degrees, allowing for crash test at different angles and speeds. It can also simulate a crash between two moving cars at speeds up to 120 km/h.

“Being committed to safety is not about passing a test or getting a safety rating,” said Thomas Broberg, one of Volvo Cars’ leading safety engineers and a two-decade company veteran. “Our commitment to safety is about finding out how and why accidents and injuries occur and then developing the technology to help prevent them. We hope our pioneering work will inspire others to follow our ambition to reduce road traffic casualties worldwide.”

Outside, there is a dedicated space for performing further tests like roll-over crashes and run-off road scenarios, whereby cars are launched into a ditch at high speeds. Here, Volvo Cars also offers rescue services the opportunity to hone their life-saving skills to employ in real-life scenarios. One of such safety rehearsals were organised earlier this year when a number of new Volvos vehicles were dropped from a height of 30 metres, to simulate the heavy damage found in extreme crash scenarios.
 
Inside the main hall, an enormous 850-ton moveable crash barrier is used for testing various frontal, rear and side impacts. Additionally, there are around two dozen other fixed and movable barriers that are used in crash testing, including a moose-like structure to simulate crashes involving these animals. During crashes, the car, the crash test dummies and the barriers are fitted with sensors that allow Volvo Cars engineers to register the entire chain of events in detail. Dozens of ultra-high definition cameras also film the crash test from every angle imaginable. Before a physical crash test, the car model in question has already gone through thousands of computer-simulated crash tests. All the data generated by these tests is then used by Volvo’s engineers to develop safer cars.
 
As the company moves towards an all-electric future, the Safety Centre has in recent years been equipped and prepared specifically to safely execute electric car crash tests as well. “No matter what the scenario, we can recreate it here at the Volvo Cars Safety Centre and analyse it in detail,” said Thomas Broberg. “For me it is very inspiring to realise that for every hour of testing and analysis we put in, we get closer and closer to our ambition that no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo.”

A subsidiary of the Al-Futtaim Automotive Group, Trading Enterprises was established in 1970s in Dubai and is the exclusive authorised distributor for Volvo in the UAE. It is empowered by a highly skilled and trained professional team to provide a complete car buying experience. Al-Futtaim Automotive is one of five divisions within the Al-Futtaim Group which provides quality products and services that enrich people’s lives and aspirations each and every day.