Volvo wants the world to know it's moved well past the days of boxy cars (though we love ourselves a good 240 Wagon), and it's also ditched the awful alpha-numeric keypad center console from just a few short years ago. Their future is electrification, and their first EV has just dropped cover in the form of the XC40 Recharge. Take a look at this thing. It even upstages the already very attractive gas version of the XC40 compact crossover.
The gas-powered XC40 really is geared towards the younger set, urban dwellers with an active lifestyle who also want the safety, all-wheel drive, beautiful styling, and the premium materials. The XC40 Recharge has all this and added efficiency without worry about going to the pump. It also has new in-car tech using an infotainment system powered by Google’s Android rather than the dedicated Volvo Sensus system found in the rest of Volvo's lineup.
- 78 kWh battery pack for a 250-mile all-electric range or 400 km, based on the EU's Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP)
- Dual Motor 300 kW powertrain (150 kW electric motor on each axle)
- 11 kW onboard charger and 150 kW DC fast-charging capability
- 0 to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds
- Top speed of 112 mph
The brand wants to make an entire line of "Recharge" electric vehicles in the near future. Håkan Samuelsson, chief executive at Volvo Cars, made a statement about this when the XC40 Recharge was unveiled.
“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.”
On top of the efficiency and the Google Android-powered infotainment, the XC40 will also be able to receive many software updates over the air. No pricing has been revealed, and we don’t know the release date yet, but this is a new chapter for Volvo. Electrification (not autonomous driving) is clearly the next major wave in the auto industry, and Volvo's off to a very good start.
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