The flywheel of electric transport continues to unwind: almost every day, companies present a new "electric train", and sometimes even a couple a day. Now Volvo has shown its first "green" model - Volvo XC40 Recharge.
But first, a brief digression into history. The Swedish company started experimenting with electric vehicles a decade ago. In 2010, she showed the Volvo C30 DRIVe, which did not require fossil fuels to travel. The Hatch could travel up to 150 km on a full charge. The car could not be called serial: it was produced in tiny batches, and it did not get into free sale (it was offered for leasing).
In February 2019, Polestar, which used to be Volvo's "court" tuning studio, showed its first electric car Polestar 2. It is equipped with two electric motors with a total power of 408 hp, as well as a 78 kWh battery, which allows travel 500 km (according to the WLTP cycle). The Polestar 2, which will be launched in China in 2020, is positioned as a competitor to the Tesla Model 3.
Thus, Volvo already has solid experience in the development and even production of electric vehicles, but only the XC40 Recharge became the company's first production model. The novelty differs from the usual XC40 with a deaf front grille. Also, the crossover is distinguished by a contrasting color: the lower part of the body, exterior mirrors and the roof turned out to be black, while the main part of the body is painted in light gray.
The Volvo XC40 Recharge has been powered by Polestar 2, meaning the company's most compact crossover is packed with two electric motors (one for each axle) that put out 660 hp in total. and 660 Nm. The capacity of the traction battery installed in the floor is 78 kWh, of which 75 kWh will actually be used. Not bad for a debut model?
On a full charge, the car will be able to drive over 400 km on the modern WLTP test cycle. When using the fast station, charging up to 80% will take up to 40 minutes.
Inside, the XC40 Recharge is virtually no different from a regular XC40. Compared to the base model, the “electric train” has become even a little more practical: since there is no longer an internal combustion engine under the hood, there is now a second trunk.
Volvo is going to introduce a new electric car every year for the next five years. Now all new electric and hybrid models of the company will be designated by the prefix Recharge. According to the plans of the Swedish brand, by 2025, half of the company's global sales will come from electric vehicles, the remaining half from hybrids.
Volvo XC40 Recharge becomes the company's first mass-produced electric car
