Mass production of the Volvo XC40 Recharge P8 has commenced at the company’s factory in Ghent, Belgium. The company says that the first cars should be shipped to owners in late November, and that the entire batch planned for the first production year has been sold out.
Compared to its gas-guzzling counterpart, the Recharge XC40 has a purely decorative grille plate at the front and different bumpers at both ends. It uses a 78-kWh battery linked to dual electric motors rated at 408 PS (304 kW) and 660 Nm (487 lb-ft) of torque total. The driving range amounts to 400 kilometers (248 miles), getting from zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) is a matter of 4.9 seconds, and the top speed is capped at 180 km/h (112 mph).
Interior novelty boils down to a new infotainment system with Google Play Services support and over-the-air updates. It can also display real-time information about the current speed limit, traffic jams and steep road curves.