Volvo, Official EU Car

On July 1, when Sweden and its prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt take over the presidency of the European Union, Volvo will become the government's official transport supplier. The cars will be provided by Volvo Personbilar Sverige (VPS), while Hertz Car Rentals will be in charge with logistics and administration.

"Being given this brief is naturally highly encouraging since it gives us the possibility of showing our strong and clear environmental profile in the international arena. We will hopefully create a positive impression among all the ministers, public authority representatives and EU officers who will be visiting Sweden from the EU's 27 member states during our presidency," Thomas Andersson, VPS president said.

Around 90 vehicles will be delivered to fill the transportation needs of the EU officials. Most of them will be S80 and V70 Flexifuel models and will be placed throughout Sweden, including in Stockholm, Goteborg, Ostersund and Kalmar. If they are required, minibuses will also be provided by Hertz.

"We will be happy to talk about and show our seven DRIVe models, several of which are class-leading when it comes to low carbon dioxide emissions and fuel consumption. Sweden's EU presidency is a golden opportunity to showcase our green model range," Andersson added.

In addition, Volvo will also supply vehicles for the United Nations climate change conference, hosted by Denmark in Copenhagen in December 2009. For the event, 70 Volvo Flexifuel will be available.

The last official vehicle of the EU was the Skoda Superb GreenLine, made available by the Czech Republic under its presidency.