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VOLVO

Rome ‘grocer’ parodies Van Damme Volvo ad

VIDEO: A group of Italians from Rome used two three-wheeled cars to carry out a parody of Jean-Claude Van Damme's famous 'epic split' ad, in which the actor performs the splits between two moving Volvo lorries.

Published: 10 December 2013 13:22 CET
Rome 'grocer' parodies Van Damme Volvo ad
Photo: Screengrab/YouTube

Van Damme's recent advert for Swedish car manufacturer has reached nearly 60 million views on YouTube and has since inspired many parodies.

One has been done by a group of Italian YouTubers, who go by the name of Il Fenomeno.

The group describes itself on its Facebook page as an 'ironic and irreverent web series' and so decided to try the feat themselves – with an Italian twist.

The clip stars 'Ianiro the fruitseller', who makes his way to Vicolo del Cinque in Rome's Trastevere district using two Ape Piaggios – a three-wheeled Italian car designed by the inventor of the Vespa. His flexibility may not be on a par with Van Damme, but he goes one better by juggling fruit.

Watch the parody here:

Now takes a look at Van Damme's original performance:

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VOLVO

Sweden’s Volvo regains strength after pandemic puts brakes on earnings

Swedish truck maker Volvo Group was hit by a sharp drop in earnings due to the coronavirus pandemic, but business rebounded at the end of the year.

Published: 3 February 2021 12:21 CET
Sweden's Volvo regains strength after pandemic puts brakes on earnings
Volvo Group CEO Martin Lundstedt. Photo: Adam Ihse/TT

In 2020, the group saw “dramatic fluctuations in demand” due to the Covid-19 pandemic, chief executive Martin Lundstedt said in a statement.

For 2021, Volvo raised its sales forecasts in its trucks division – its core business – in Europe, North America and Brazil.

However, it said it also expected “production disturbances and increased costs” due to a “strained” supply chain, noting a global shortage of semiconductors across industries.

The truck making sector is particularly sensitive to the global economic situation and is usually hard hit during crises.

In March, as the pandemic took hold around the world, Volvo suspended operations at most of its sites in 18 countries and halted production at Renault Trucks, which it owns, in Belgium and France.

Operations gradually resumed mid-year, but not enough to compensate for the drop in earnings.

With annual sales down 22 percent to 338 billion kronor (33.4 billion euros, $40 billion), the group posted a 46 percent plunge in net profit to 19.3 billion kronor (1.9 billion euros).

Operating margin fell from 11.5 to 8.1 percent.

However, the group did manage to cut costs by 20 percent.

“We have significantly improved our volume and cost flexibility, which were crucial factors behind our earnings resilience in 2020,” the group said.

Volvo's business regained strength in the second half of the year.

“Customer usage of trucks and machines increased when the Covid-19 restrictions were eased during the summer and this development continued during both the third and fourth quarters,” it said.

“Both the transport activity and the construction business are back at levels on par with the prior year in most markets.”

For the fourth quarter alone, the company reported a 38-percent rise in net profit from a year earlier.

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