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Volvo XC40 EV Confirmed At Safety Event, Will Debut By Year’s End

Even though officials declined to go further into detail, Volvo Cars confirmed the XC40 EV is right around the corner. Set to be unveiled in the second half of the year, both the electric crossover and Polestar 2 will hit the road for the 2020 model year.
Volvo XC40 T5 Twin Engine 84 photos
Photo: Volvo
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Automotive News Europe received the confirmation at a safety event in Gothenburg, and thus far, not much is known about the XC40. What is clear to everyone is that the Volvo will be a cheaper alternative to the Polestar despite the two sharing the Compact Modular Architecture.

The CMA was co-developed with the help of Geely, the Chinese automaker who also controls Lotus, Lynk & Co, and the London Electric Vehicle Company. Geely bought 50 percent of smart earlier this month, and the joint venture will translate to electric-vehicle production in China.

Introduced in 2017 for the 2018 model year, the XC40 is Volvo’s smallest crossover to date. Set to be joined by the next generation of the V40, the XC40 also happens to be the first Volvo to feature the first-ever turbo three-cylinder developed by the Swedish automaker.

The XC40 T5 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid was revealed at the Auto China 2018, combining the 1.5-liter engine with a seven-speed automatic transmission (a dual-clutch design), 55-kW electric motor, and a lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 9.7 kilowatt-hours. The most fuel-efficient XC40 is front-wheel drive, targeting an all-electric range of 50 kilometers (31 miles).

A 39,900-euro version of the 2 is in the pipeline, and given the difference between Polestar and Volvo, the XC40 EV shouldn’t cost more than the liftback sedan. The entry-level Polestar is expected to start production in February 2021, and for the time being, the Launch Edition retails at 59,900 euros.

Even though the 2 will be manufactured exclusively in the Middle Kingdom, the XC40 EV for Europe will be built in Ghent, Belgium. The compact crossover is also made at the Luqiao plant in China, and vice-president of design Robin Page thinks that “the vehicles manufactured in China are now at a higher quality than in Europe.”
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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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.
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