Volvo C30 All-Electric in the Works

Leaving financial problems aside, Volvo continues its race for electrification with a new model. The Swedish brand is reportedly developing an all-electric flavor of the C30 which will be officially showcased at the Frankfurt Auto Show next month. Nevertheless, Volvo is still unsure whether to bring this model in production but the car will most likely hit the streets in the upcoming years, soon after the diesel plug-in electric hybrid V70 scheduled for 2012.

A Volvo insider told Autocar that the Swedish brand will make a decision regarding the future of the concept in the near future but refused to admit whether the prototype has any chance to go in production.

"The all-electric C30 is a car we have talked about previously and formed the basis of the Recharge concept shown a few years ago," he told the aforementioned source. "One of the cars that will be shown at the Innovation for Life event will be an all-electric C30 and that car will be driven."

"It is an evaluation concept. It’s being worked on and is part of an ongoing evaluation and we will make a decision in the future. At the moment, we are not considering putting it into production."

Volvo confirmed two months ago that its first plug-in hybrid will arrive in 2012 and will be produced in collaboration with Swedish energy company Vattenfall. It will be powered by a lithium-ion battery that will need around five hours to be completely recharged.

"We are investing in an industrial joint venture to series-produce plug-in hybrid cars in Sweden in 2012, cars that can be powered by both electricity and diesel. This is an important business development for us and our partnership with Vattenfall allows us to take a giant step toward offering our customers cars with an even smaller environmental footprint," says Stephen Odell, President and CEO of the Volvo Car Corporation.