5 May 2016

Volvo pulls out of V8 Supercars

9:28 am on 5 May 2016

The Swedish car company Volvo is pulling out of the Australian V8 Supercar championship from next year.

The company has made the announcement just ahead of the latetst round of the competitioin in Perth.

The decision was taken by Polestar, the high-performance arm of Volvo Cars and comes just a week after the competition rebranded itself from as "Supercars" last week, dropping V8 from its name and hoping to bring in new car makers.

The move affects New Zealand driver Scott McLaughlin who scored Volvo's first V8 Supercar win in 2014.

For how much longer will New Zealand's Scott McLaughlin be driving a Volvo?

For how much longer will New Zealand's Scott McLaughlin be driving a Volvo? Photo: Photosport

However Garry Rogers Motorsport says it will continue to race Volvo S60s in 2017 and beyond, despite the announcement by Polestar.

"Polestar advised us at the start of this season that their involvement in V8 Supercars had ceased," GRM boss Barry Rogers said.

"If you look at the rear wing of our car; last year it said Volvo Polestar Racing, this year it says Volvo Cyan Racing. If you look at our trucks, last year it said Volvo Polestar Racing, this year we have Volvo Dealer Team on it.

"So the Polestar connection ceased, as far as GRM is concerned, at the start of the 2016 season.

"In day to day business, it really doesn't affect what we do. Nothing changes from our end."

Since 2014 GRM has been a factory Volvo team under the new gen V8 Supercars rules, with two S60s on the grid steered by Scott McLaughlin and James Moffat this season.

Supercars CEO James Warburton is disappointed by the announcement.

"It is a disappointing decision by Polestar, especially given the positive discussions being held locally about Volvo's continued involvement in the series," Warburton said.

"However we understand that ultimately this was a global decision," he said.

"Garry Rogers Motorsport has indicated that it is committed to race Volvos in the 2016 and 2017 seasons and we will continue to have discussions with Volvo Car Australia about its ongoing involvement."