Volvo Cars is one of Europe's biggest aspirational manufacturers, and perhaps the only one capable of consistently and systematically challenging the German triumvirate of Audi, BMW and Mercedes, which has dominated the Old Continent with an iron fist for years.

The battle for electric cars in Europe has long since become a duel between aspirational or luxury brands and SUVs or crossovers with enough space to transport the whole family. Volvo has now unveiled its eighth electric car, the EX60, a vehicle designed to compete in the aspirational compact SUV segment against the new BMW iX3 and the Mercedes GLC EQamong others.

Another closure in Catalan industry. The UGT union denounced on Friday that the Japanese company Hi-Lex has announced the closure of its plant in Granollers and filed for a collective dismissal procedure (ERE) to lay off its 67 workers. In response, the workforce has begun an indefinite strike to show its "outright rejection" of the multinational's decision. According to the union, the closure of the factory in the Vallès region is not due to objective reasons, but rather is a "disguised relocation." "During the consultation period, the works council and the union organizations have confirmed that management has acted in bad faith, maintained an inflexible position, and demonstrated that the decision had already been made long before its official announcement," UGT criticized.