Swedish luxury car maker Volvo Cars India is on track to follow the company’s global mandate of becoming carbon neutral by 2040 and aiming at going all-electric by 2030. The company is investing in developing its own electric motors for future models and is geared to do away with ICE engines as well as hybrids within the next decade. Showcasing their promise to the Indian market, Volvo Cars India recently unveiled their first all-electric model for the country, namely the XC 40 Recharge.
The XC40 Recharge is based on the compact modular architecture that has been co-developed within the Geely Group. As far as the design is concerned, the Volvo XC40 Recharge looks almost identical to its petrol-powered counterpart apart from the closed off grille. It does carry an air of premiumness and is touted to be rather kitted out as well.
Incidentally, Volvo has upgraded the frontal structure to be more reinforced in order to meet their excellent safety standards. 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 SUV also lowers the car’s centre of gravity, for better protection against roll-overs.
Powering the XC40 Recharge is a twin motor set up that delivers close to 400 horsepower and 660 Nm of torque. The twin motors are capable of taking the SUV from 0-100 km/h in just 4.9 seconds! The XC40 Recharge has a claimed mileage of doing 400 km on a single charge as per WLTP testing. With multiple charging options including a DC fast charger that gets up to 80 per cent of battery capacity in 40 minutes, the XC40 Recharge does tick off the practical element. The Volvo XC40 Recharge will go on sale by October this year.