Volvo recharging its model line-up
Volvo introducing its first fully electric vehicle as part of Volvo Cars’ climate plan.
Volvo Cars have introduced the XC40 Recharge and are the first many models planned to form part of its Recharge car line concept. The small SUV is based on the popular and multi-award-winning XC40 but now will include a brand new infotainment system powered by Google’s Android operating system. The launch of the all-electric XC40 Recharge forms part of Volvo’s strategy to launch a new electric car annually over the next five years to promote the sales of all-electric vehicles globally. Volvo Cars would like to see more than 50 per cent of global vehicle sales going towards fully electric vehicles with the difference made up of hybrid vehicles by the year 2025.
Vehicle models that either come fitted with a plug-in hybrid powertrain or are fully electric from Volvo will in the future carry the overarching name of Recharge. The Recharge option will be included on the website from early 2020, whereby customers will be asked if they would prefer a Recharge vehicle. Further promoting its strategy to increase the sales of fully electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, Volvo will be giving customers free electricity for their vehicle for a year. Volvo will achieve this through a refund for the average electricity cost during that period.
The XC40 Recharge will come fitted with a fully electric all-wheel-drive powertrain that produces 304 kW and has a range of over 400 km (WLTP) on a single charge. Customers can expect to wait 40 minutes using a fast-charger system but will see the battery charge to 80 per cent of its capacity. The infotainment system powered by Google’s Android operating system is fully integrated with Volvo On Call the company’s digital connected services platform. Currently, Volvo Cars aim for plug-in hybrid cars to make up 20 per cent of total sales in 2020.
With the anticipated growth in demand expected for the new Recharge vehicles, Volvo Cars will from 2020 triple its production capacity to reduce delivery times. Volvo Cars, the only carmaker to offer a plug-in hybrid variant on its entire range, aim to become a climate-neutral company by 2040. Volvo Cars have launched an action plan that aligns with Paris climate agreement. “We have said this several times before: for Volvo Cars, the future is electric. Today we take a major new step in that direction with the launch of our fully electric XC40 and the Recharge car line.” Håkan Samuelsson, chief executive, Volvo Cars.
