We covered the earlier release by Volvo on the electric XC40 highlighting its advanced safety systems and smart packaging, but not much else. A new release by the Swedish carmaker has highlighted some more information about the car with a few sketches and details about the design and infotainment system.
The car maintains almost the same shape as the outgoing internal combustion XC40. The changes to the car include the fact that it has a front grille that is covered and painted in body colour, also housing the new Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). ADAS is a scalable safety system that consists of an array of radars, cameras and ultrasonic sensors. Thanks to its scalable nature it can easily be developed further to improve safety standards and autonomous driving abilities.
The electric XC40 has no exhaust pipes at the rear, a common treatment for electric cars since there’s no harmful gasses emitted by the motor. Volvo has highlighted the car’s ‘frunk’ in the sketches which will add around 30 litres to the luggage capacity of the XC40.
Buyers will get a choice between eight exterior colour options including a brand new Sage Green. There will be two new 19-inch and 20-inch wheel options as well to distinguish the electric car from its ICE counterpart.
Volvo has stated that the interior gets a brand new Android based interface called Android Automotive OS. The Android based operating system will enable users to interact with the car as if it were their phone and they will be able to use apps optimised for the car. The use of Google Assistant will enable voice commands for in-car functions such as controlling temperature, setting a destination and playing music, among others. Volvo will also relay real time Google Maps data to the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) to provide important information such as speed limits and curves in the road to the car.
The electric XC40 will be the first Volvo to receive large software and operating system updates over the air.
The interior will continue the same sporty theme as the combustion engine XC40 but will now feature carpets made from recycled materials to really drive home the point of sustainability.
The car is based on Volvo’s CMA platform, of which the standard XC40 was the first product, was designed for electric cars from the word go. This has helped engineers smartly package the XC40, the battery pack is integrated into the floor to save interior space and also improve the car’s center of gravity. There will also be more functional storage space in the doors and under the seats, a fold-out hook for small bags and a removable waste bin in the tunnel console.
We’ll get to know about things like the motor and pricing when the electric XC40 gets revealed to the public on October 16.