"We have had a very positive response from the market so far. If the demand continues to be high, we will of course expand our production series," said Lennart Stegland, director of Volvo Car Corporation's Special Vehicles division.
The Volvo C30 Electric is powered by a lithium-ion battery that can be charged from a regular power socket. The batteries take eight hours to recharge, eating enough electricity to give it a driving range of 150 km (93 miles). The range is enough, according to Volvo's research, for about 90 percent of commuters in Europe.
The model cuts no corners when it comes to its performances, providing an under 11 seconds naught to 60 mph acceleration time and a top speed of 130 km/h (81 mph).
Volvo's entrance on the electric vehicle market comes at a time when just about every manufacturer who counts for something in the industry is trying to build one. Even if, in most cases, the EV models are just a tool to bring down the emission levels of a carmaker's fleet, in light of new regulations, the EV market share is expected to grow exponentially.
“By 2020 about 5-10 percent of cars in Sweden are expected to be electric. By 2020-2025 we believe that electric cars will account for 3-10 percent of the market share in the EU countries. Different markets have different preconditions," explains Stegland.
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