Volvo Car has started production of the XC40 Recharge, the first of several fully electric Volvos to come. It is expected to arrive in Irish showrooms from July next year. Pricing has yet to be announced.
The all-wheel drive XC40 Recharge offers a projected range of over 400 km on a single charge and output of 408hp. The battery can charge to 80 per cent of its capacity in approximately 40 mins on a fast-charger system.
As a fully electric version of the best-selling XC40 SUV, the first Volvo to win the prestigious European Car of the Year award, the XC40 Recharge is based on the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA ), an advanced vehicle platform co-developed within the Geely Group.
The XC40 SUV was also the recipient of ‘Irish Car of the Year’ in 2019.
The new SUV offers an Android-powered infotainment system with improved levels of intuitiveness and embedded Google technology and services, such as the Google Assistant, Google Maps and the Google Play Store. The XC40 Recharge also receives larger software and operating system updates over the air.
The car’s frontal structure has been completely redesigned and reinforced to address the absence of an engine. This meets Volvo’s high safety requirements and helps keep people as safe as in any other Volvo.
The battery pack is protected by a safety cage embedded in the middle of the car’s body structure. Its placement in the floor of the car also lowers the centre of gravity of the car, for better protection against roll-overs.
Inside, an innovative approach to all-round functionality gives drivers plenty of storage space, for example in the doors and in the trunk. Because it has no internal combustion engine, the car gives drivers even more storage space via a so-called ‘frunk’ under the front hood.
The production start of the XC40 Recharge represents a significant step towards Volvo’s ambition to reduce its CO2 footprint per car by 40 per cent by 2025. That same year, it expects 50 per cent of its global sales to consist of fully electric cars, with the rest hybrids.
