Volvo teases first fully-electric car

Volvo has made big developments on the move towards emission free motoring. In 2017 they made a commitment to electrify every car in their range and also stated that by 2025 around 50 per cent of the cars they produce and sell will be electric. Their first move towards an all-electric future begins next month with their first fully-electric car, an electric XC40.

What we know

Volvo is known for its safety and in classic Volvo fashion they have currently only revealed details of the safety aspect of their new electric car. That said, they have specifically stated that the new electric XC40 will be one of the safest yet so you can imagine that’s a big deal. There have been concerns about how a battery pack would cope in an accident, since they are highly flammable due to its contents. To help keep passengers safe and the battery intact in the event of a collision, Volvo has developed a new safety structure for passengers and battery. The battery is protected by a safety cage which consists of a frame of extruded aluminum and has been embedded in the middle of the car’s body structure, creating a built-in crumple zone around the battery. The battery has also been placed in the floor of the car to lower center of gravity and decrease the chances of a roll-over.To deal with the absence of an engine acting as a crumple zone and divider between the passenger compartment and a frontal collision, Volvo’s engineers completely redesigned and reinforced the frontal structure to deal with the absence of an engine. The electric XC40 will also be the first Volvo to be equipped with the new Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) sensor platform. The new ADAS platform 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.

What we don’t know

Well, quite a lot actually. Volvo has not revealed any details about the battery pack, electric motor or pricing. However, the fully-electric Polestar 2 made by Volvo’s sister brand Polestar was unveiled recently. The Polestar 2 is similarly sized and based on the same CMA platform as the XC40. The Polestar 2 has a 78kWh battery pack along with a motor that puts out 402bhp and 660Nm of torque. Polestar is a brand with different goals focused on providing electric high performance cars, so the XC40 might not get the same power output as the Polestar 2 but it will most likely have an electric powertrain sharing much of its components with the Polestar.

The car is set to be unveiled on October 16 with more details being revealed then.