Photo: Volvo
Volvo’s head honcho said two years ago that by 2020, electrified vehicles would account for 10 percent of the automaker’s sales. Hakan Samuelsson also mentioned that the time is high for EVs to enter the mainstream, with an all-electric car of unknown shape and dimensions. All we know is, Volvo will start production of the mystery EV sometime in 2019, probably for model year 2020.
Following Mr. Samuelsson’s take on the matter, the chief executive officer of Volvo’s U.S. arm adds fuel to the fire. Speaking to Automotive News on the sidelines of the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, Lex Kerssemakers alluded to a range of 250+ miles, and a starting price between $35,000 and $40,000.
"Why are people reluctant to buy a full electric car?" said Mr. Kerssemakers. ”It's between the ears. It's that they believe there's not sufficient range,” the official answered his own question, and he’s got a point. Starting with this bit of intel, now is the moment for us to hypothesize about Volvo’s first-ever EV.
For starters, we know Volvo has the Modular Electrification Platform up its sleeve. Made official in broad terms at the SAE 2017 Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Technologies Symposium, the MEP acts as the building block for electric vehicles with "100 to 450 kW [136 to 612 PS or 134 to 603 hp] of propulsive power, with battery packs of up to 100 kWh in size.” To boot, Volvo also plans to introduce 48 mild hybrids in the nearest of futures.
That’s not saying much about the EV coming in 2019, doesn’t it? Well, the pricing should be a better indicator of what’s in the pipeline. But first, here’s something for you: how much does the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt cost? And how much does Tesla project the Model 3 to go for? Yup, they both range from $35k to $40k, and they’re both compact-ish in size. As for battery capacity, the minimum I’m willing to bet my two cents on is 60 kWh of juice.
"Why are people reluctant to buy a full electric car?" said Mr. Kerssemakers. ”It's between the ears. It's that they believe there's not sufficient range,” the official answered his own question, and he’s got a point. Starting with this bit of intel, now is the moment for us to hypothesize about Volvo’s first-ever EV.
For starters, we know Volvo has the Modular Electrification Platform up its sleeve. Made official in broad terms at the SAE 2017 Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Technologies Symposium, the MEP acts as the building block for electric vehicles with "100 to 450 kW [136 to 612 PS or 134 to 603 hp] of propulsive power, with battery packs of up to 100 kWh in size.” To boot, Volvo also plans to introduce 48 mild hybrids in the nearest of futures.
That’s not saying much about the EV coming in 2019, doesn’t it? Well, the pricing should be a better indicator of what’s in the pipeline. But first, here’s something for you: how much does the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt cost? And how much does Tesla project the Model 3 to go for? Yup, they both range from $35k to $40k, and they’re both compact-ish in size. As for battery capacity, the minimum I’m willing to bet my two cents on is 60 kWh of juice.
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