A little over a year ago, car manufacturer Volvo said it wanted to design and produce a whole range of all-electric cars in the near future, bringing their sales share to 50% by 2025. It is now official that the XC40 SUV will be the first to make the EV switch. It will celebrate its first live appearance in late 2019 and enter production in 2020.
The nature-friendly XC40 uses the same CMA platform as the Polestar 2, which is being marketed as the main rival of the Tesla Model 3. Geely – Lynk & Co (Geely being the current owner of Volvo) also makes use of the CMA vehicle architecture.
In the foreseeable future, though, the series will not switch completely to electric powertrains. Packing a 1.5-liter gasoline engine, an electric motor, and a 9.7 kWh lithium-ion battery, the Volvo XC40 Hybrid will enter retail later this year. The car will have 262 hp (195 kW) and 425 Nm (313 lbft) of torque at its disposal, and will offer around 55 kilometers of all-electric range. It will sprint from zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 7.3 seconds and hit its speed ceiling at 205 km/h (127 mph).
Photos: Volvo