“Transportation is what connects us,” said CTA President Kinsey Fabrizio as she introduced Martin Lundstedt, President and CEO of Volvo Group at the Volvo keynote at CES 2025 Wednesday morning. “Electrification, automation, and connectivity are transforming how people and goods move across the world, and thanks to the leadership of companies like Volvo group pushing boundaries in transportation and infrastructure, we’re redefining the future of sustainable mobility and technology and improving lives across the globe.”
“Thriving societies are built on transport and infrastructure solutions,” said Lundstedt. “Take the United States as an example — more than 70% of all goods used in our daily lives from food to manufactured goods are transported to our stores, plants, and homes. But transport is not just about moving people or goods from one place to another. It binds us together, fuels our economy, and enriches our lives and society in countless ways.”
Lundstedt drove his point home by literally turning off the lights, leaving the audience briefly in the dark as he posed the question, “What if we [transportation] weren’t here?”
“Society would rapidly shut down,” he said gravely. “Hospitals would lack medical equipment and grocery stores would be stripped bare. Garbage would be piled outside your and my home. That is how important transport and logistics are for society, business, and people. It is literally the lifeblood that drives prosperity, and that’s why we work tirelessly to keep the lights on.”
Volvo’s innovations and advancements in clean, sustainable energy and transportation were highlighted by Lars Stenqvist, CTO of Volvo Group, as he shared examples of heavy construction equipment working cleanly and independently of an electric grid, and with much less noise pollution combustion engine models produce.
“Our goal is clear: to create solutions meeting the demands of tomorrow —cleaner, safer, more efficient, smarter transport and construction,” said Stenqvist.
Stenqvist proudly showcased VNL, Volvo’s new flagship highway truck for North America. Volvo’s aerodynamic and powertrain breakthroughs featured with the VNL create up to a 10% improvement in fuel efficiency over its previous model and are designed to set new industry standards in heavy-duty trucking. “It’s the platform for all future technologies,” quipped Stentqvist.
Lundstedt also welcomed Ebba Busch, Minister for Energy, Business and Industry, Deputy Prime Minister for Sweden, to the stage to share Sweden’s vision for creating a hopeful future for generations to come.
“Today…many young people lack hope,” said Busch. “So many parents worry that their children may not experience better living conditions than they had themselves. Can you imagine what that does to a whole generation?”
Citing hard work and curiosity as key ingredients to Sweden’s success over the centuries, Busch warned that those two values are in danger today. “Fear can drive action,” she said, “but too much fear leads to hopelessness, it leads to paralysis, and political decisions rooted in quite a lot of fear for climate change, war, or pandemics. That hinders the next generation to believe and pursue these values.
“Yet, there is so much hope,” Busch enthused. “New technologies offer incredible possibilities, and I would like to make a direct appeal to all of you here in this room or listening online now, as business leaders, as mothers, as fathers, as policymakers, and as fellow citizens. We all have a great responsibility to instill the values of hard work and curiosity in the next generation. Do not underestimate the power of what we model as admirable and worth striving for. Like our ancestors, we can transform fear into hope and build a more prosperous tomorrow.”
Volvo’s vision for a clean, safe, and sustainable technology-based future is made possible by its partnerships, and Lundstedt encouraged companies across the world to share the heavy burden of creating an optimal future by “collaborating with a competitor to be competitive”.
“The time to act was yesterday, but now we must move faster than ever,” Lundstedt concluded. “Let’s shape the world we want to live in, and let’s do it together.”
