Volvo have revealed something of a quiet revolution with this new EV, their first-ever production fully electric vehicle. Built atop the same propulsion-agnostic CMA platform as the combustion and (soon) hybrid-powered crossover, this XC40 spearheads their ‘Recharge’ line of zero emissions models.
The key to how Volvo approaches the EV Rubik’s Cube is in its familiarity, and the funky/chic XC40 is the first Trojan Horse the from Swedish automaker. As best as we can gather, their rationale is that, when choosing a car, deciding whether it should be a electric or otherwise should be as easy a decision as picking a colour.
To that end, they are making the XC40 Recharge experience as seamless as possible. It’s evident just by looking at the engineless crossover, which looks near identical one with a petrol or diesel burner under its bonnet. And the same philosophy is carried into its cabin and drive.
Now, we do not know yet how much the Recharge family of cars will cost over their combustion-powered counterparts, though with how eager Volvo seems to be to bring this to markets the world over, we expect we’ll have that answer soon. It’s due to make Aussie landfall by 2021, just so you know.
The chief change the electrified treatment brings to the XC40 is, obviously, the (lack of) a conventional powertrain. In its place is a modestly sized ‘frunk' and electric motors resting in between each axle to produce a combined 300kW and 600Nm distributed across all corners.
Between those axles is a sizeable bank of lithium ion batteries with a total capacity of 78kWh, a number almost on par with the recently announced Porsche Taycan 4S Performance. This package is able to propel the EV crossover to 100km/h from rest in blistering 4.9 seconds and onward to a maximum range of 400km according to the WLTP cycle.
When connected to a 150kW fast charging port, the XC40 Recharge can replenish its cells to 80 percent capacity from a theoretical flatline in around 40 minutes, according to Volvo. More likely is that owners will use the supplied 11kW home wall-box, however, in which case a full charge should be achieved in around 8 hours.
Within a few years, Volvo expects to flesh out their Recharge range by revealed a fully electric version of the XC60 and flagship XC90 but also including their S60 and S90 saloons. By 2025, the automaker is aiming to have EVs comprise 50 recent of their global vehicle sales and the other half being hybrids.
For more on Volvo cars, check out our Showroom.
