Volvo’s XC40 fully electric SUV heading to NZ

The Volvo XC40 Recharge will have a range of 400km. Photos: Volvo

Production has started of Volvo’s full electric XC40 Recharge compact SUV that is set to become a major player for the Swedish brand.

And there’s good news for Kiwi fans of the Volvo as we’ll be getting the electric SUV.

Coby Duggan, Volvo NZ general manager says their first pure EV will be a welcome addition to the range.

He says according to latest industry figures, at the end of August the total EV fleet in New Zealand had grown by 37 per cent compared to the same time last year.

“Despite the impact of the COVID pandemic on vehicle sales, the New Zealand EV fleet size has seen significant growth and pure light EVs have become increasingly popular, particularly among private buyers,” said Duggan.

“With the XC40 already our most popular model, we are anticipating strong demand for the fully electric XC40 Recharge when the first examples land here late next year.”

Customer demand for the XC40 Recharge has been strong and while order books remain open, every car scheduled to be built this calendar year has already been sold. The first cars are scheduled to be delivered to customers in Europe later this month.

The start of customer car production follows a period of preparation in which the Ghent plant in Belgium has built a limited number of pre-production cars. 

Production has just started at the Ghent plant in Belgium of the XC40 Recharge

The XC40 Recharge is a significant step towards Volvo Cars’ ambition to reduce its CO2 footprint per car by 40 per cent by 2025. That same year, it expects 50 per cent of its global sales to consist of fully electric cars, with the rest hybrids.

As a fully electric version of the best-selling XC40 SUV, the first Volvo to win the prestigious European Car of the Year award, the XC40 Recharge is based on the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA), an advanced vehicle platform co-developed within the Geely Group.

The all-wheel drive XC40 Recharge offers a projected range of over 400km (Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure) on a single charge and output of 304kW. The battery can charge to 80 per cent of its capacity in approximately 40 mins on a fast-charger system.

The new, Android-powered infotainment system offers customers unprecedented personalisation, improved levels of intuitiveness and embedded Google technology and services, such as the Google Assistant, Google Maps and the Google Play Store. The XC40 Recharge also receives larger software and operating system updates over the air.

Volvo Cars safety engineers have completely redesigned and reinforced the frontal structure to address the absence of an engine. The battery pack is protected by a safety cage embedded in the middle of the car’s body structure. Its placement in the floor of the car also lowers the centre of gravity of the car, for better protection against roll-overs.

Duggan says New Zealand pricing and specification for the XC40 Recharge will be confirmed closer to the launch date.