Photo: Volvo Cars
While Volvo Cars has just one fully electric model in its lineup, the XC40 Recharge, the Gothenburg-based company has been adamant about its determination to become a fully electric automaker, much like Tesla. Still, converting from a classic manufacturer to a zero-emissions mobility provider is going to take time – and many intermediate steps are still necessary.
On the other hand, Volvo has imposed an ambitious strategy for itself – the tight schedule includes the reduction of the “lifecycle carbon footprint” for every car it produces by no less than 40% by 2025, as well as a final target of becoming completely climate-neutral by 2040.
With its legendary respect for the safety and wellbeing of its customers in retrospective, we can safely assume Volvo is going to hit the milestones (even if there’s a little bit of delay, again – Tesla-style). That’s no walk in the park, though we have a feeling the Chinese connections with its parent company Geely are also a highly motivating factor.
The latest move from the company is directly targeted at its Chinese interests, with Volvo announcing the opening of a new electric motor lab in Shanghai – where the brand will cater for the “in-house design and development of electric motors for the next generation of Volvo models” based on the new SPA 2 platform.
That means we could expect the upcoming 90-series vehicles to arrive sporting both Chinese and Swedish designed electric motors, as the Shanghai lab is the company’s second e-motor development hub after the one in Gothenburg. Not only that, but its batteries might also be created at the dedicated labs in China and Sweden.
Volvo promises the new, in-house, designs will allow its engineers to further refine the entire EV powertrain (e-motor, battery, power electronics) in the upcoming new models, bringing enhanced performance and better energy efficiency in the process.
The company also expressly revealed the new Shanghai e-motor lab would focus on the development of the fully electric and hybrid models pertaining to its upcoming SPA 2 modular vehicle architecture – chief among them probably being the forthcoming fully-electric XC90 SUV.
With its legendary respect for the safety and wellbeing of its customers in retrospective, we can safely assume Volvo is going to hit the milestones (even if there’s a little bit of delay, again – Tesla-style). That’s no walk in the park, though we have a feeling the Chinese connections with its parent company Geely are also a highly motivating factor.
The latest move from the company is directly targeted at its Chinese interests, with Volvo announcing the opening of a new electric motor lab in Shanghai – where the brand will cater for the “in-house design and development of electric motors for the next generation of Volvo models” based on the new SPA 2 platform.
That means we could expect the upcoming 90-series vehicles to arrive sporting both Chinese and Swedish designed electric motors, as the Shanghai lab is the company’s second e-motor development hub after the one in Gothenburg. Not only that, but its batteries might also be created at the dedicated labs in China and Sweden.
Volvo promises the new, in-house, designs will allow its engineers to further refine the entire EV powertrain (e-motor, battery, power electronics) in the upcoming new models, bringing enhanced performance and better energy efficiency in the process.
The company also expressly revealed the new Shanghai e-motor lab would focus on the development of the fully electric and hybrid models pertaining to its upcoming SPA 2 modular vehicle architecture – chief among them probably being the forthcoming fully-electric XC90 SUV.
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