“We see similar values in the Research Foundation – they have a clear vision to make people’s lives better, and they have some very smart people working on research to make that happen.”
What does a global car producer and local medical research have in common? Quite a lot says Geoff Chung, General Sales Manager Armstrong’s Volvo, Dunedin.
Armstrong’s Volvo are a Patron Member of the Otago Medical Research Foundation’s Club Otago lunch series.
Both Volvo and the Foundation rely on research and human innovation, and both have people at the core.
“The driving force behind our business isn’t cars, it’s people”, explains Geoff. “Globally Volvo spend a lot of money on research that focus on people first – we design around the needs of the people using our cars, not how fast we can make the car go.”
Volvo Cars has been a leader in car safety for decades — they have invented some of the most important features in the history of vehicle safety – including the three-point safety seatbelt. In fact, their vision is that no one should be seriously injured or killed in a new Volvo car.
But Geoff pointed out they don’t patent new safety features; they share so that everyone can benefit. And in the process, millions of lives have been saved.
“Volvo see the future of safety as not just safety for the individual, but safety for all humans – hence the drive for 2025 towards sustainability, and for 50 percent of global sales to be electric. For New Zealand, that means Volvo will only be selling Mild Hybrids in XC60 and XC90 by August 2021, and it is offering a plug-in hybrid option in all models (including the highly popular XC40).”
“We see similar values in the Otago Medical Research Foundation – they have a clear vision to make people’s lives better, and they have some very smart people working on research to make that happen.” That’s why we see this as a good fit – we both are looking for ways to build the communities who support us.”
“And for me, I love listening to a new guest research speaker at every lunch, knowing we have had a part to play in their research – it’s interesting and very satisfying.”
“Our sponsorship relationship benefits both organisations – we get to talk cars to people at the events, and we support projects we know are making a difference. It’s about people’s lives.”