Photo: João Kleber do Amaral
Volvo has been revealing its plans for the future explicitly and also inadvertently. The Swedish carmaker said it would only produce electric cars by 2030. What it did not tell is how it will get there, but Automotive News is doing great work at disclosing the plans. According to the publication, Volvo will soon have five EVs and two plug-in hybrids.
Automotive News recently broke the news that Volvo will have an EV codenamed V546 that sits between the XC60 and the XC90 in terms of size. It is not the Embla – an electric SUV aimed to eventually replace the XC90, which looks more like a station wagon on steroids. This information will be relevant when you read more about Volvo’s plans.
They were revealed to 800 dealers from North and South America in a recent meeting in Miami. According to Automotive News, the five electric cars will consist of a small and a large crossover, a sedan, and two “sporty wagon-like models.” The description fits the Embla – based on the Volvo Concept Recharge – and the V546. And there’s a reason for that.
Electric cars cannot be like most crossovers and SUVs, because battery packs do not retain as much energy as a fuel tank. That said, they have to be as efficient as possible in dealing with that energy. If it spends too much resisting air with a boxy design, with an awful drag coefficient, it will not travel as far as a more streamlined EV would.
This is the reason for the “sporty wagon-like” vehicles that Automotive News described. These new SUVs cannot be as tall as the XC60 or the XC90. Being lower reduces the frontal area, consequently making them more aerodynamic. For them to accommodate passengers with the same comfort, they have to be longer. That said, the V546 should be as roomy as a XC60: although it is longer, it should also be lower.
The electric sedan is the only one we have not heard anything about so far. The crossovers Automotive News mentioned should be an all-electric XC60 and an EV smaller than the XC40, which already has its electric version, the XC40 Recharge. Its lousy range reinforces what we told you about the tall electric station wagons Volvo plans to sell. The PHEVs should be the refreshed versions of the S90 and XC90.
They were revealed to 800 dealers from North and South America in a recent meeting in Miami. According to Automotive News, the five electric cars will consist of a small and a large crossover, a sedan, and two “sporty wagon-like models.” The description fits the Embla – based on the Volvo Concept Recharge – and the V546. And there’s a reason for that.
Electric cars cannot be like most crossovers and SUVs, because battery packs do not retain as much energy as a fuel tank. That said, they have to be as efficient as possible in dealing with that energy. If it spends too much resisting air with a boxy design, with an awful drag coefficient, it will not travel as far as a more streamlined EV would.
This is the reason for the “sporty wagon-like” vehicles that Automotive News described. These new SUVs cannot be as tall as the XC60 or the XC90. Being lower reduces the frontal area, consequently making them more aerodynamic. For them to accommodate passengers with the same comfort, they have to be longer. That said, the V546 should be as roomy as a XC60: although it is longer, it should also be lower.
The electric sedan is the only one we have not heard anything about so far. The crossovers Automotive News mentioned should be an all-electric XC60 and an EV smaller than the XC40, which already has its electric version, the XC40 Recharge. Its lousy range reinforces what we told you about the tall electric station wagons Volvo plans to sell. The PHEVs should be the refreshed versions of the S90 and XC90.
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