310 miles of driving range, which translates to 500 kilometers in the rest of Europe. That’s the target Volvo has for the all-electric version of the XC40, which is thought to arrive by the end of 2019.
According to Autocar, the XC40 EV won’t be the first Volvo electric vehicle to go on sale, but the second after a 40.2 Concept-inspired hatchback. Both models, however, share the Compact Modular Architecture and the yet-to-be-detailed electric drivetrain.
As you can tell from the following image of the Compact Modular Architecture’s BEV setup, the battery sends the goodies to two electric drive units, integrated into the front and rear axles. The thing is, the image’s disclaimer reads “for illustrative purposes only,” which is another way of saying that a single-motor variant could be offered just as well. And that makes sense if you bear in mind that, among others, Volvo plans to increase its sales volume.
With the XC40 and yet-to-be-revealed V40 priced more resonably than other Volvo models in the lineup, the case for sales volume indeed holds water. But in addition to complete electrification, the Swedish automaker is also big on hybrid and plug-in hybrid setups.
Every Volvo introduced after 2019 will be, at the very least, gifted with 48-volt mild hybridization in the form of an integrated starter/generator. The plug-in hybrid family, which currently consists of the T5 and T8 Twin Engine setups, covers the middle ground, while BEVs will be positioned at the very top of the range.
As a brief refresher, chief executive officer Hakan Samuelsson said that “this announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car.” The CEO also stated that it “plans to have sold a total of 1 million electrified cars by 2025. When we said it we meant it. This is how we are going to do it,” added Samuelsson.
In total, Volvo will launch five BEVs between 2019 and 2021, two of which under the Polestar high-performance brand. With the V40 and XC40 confirmed for full electrification, the third BEV will be based on an existing model from the 60 or 90 Series.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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