From 2019, every Volvo car will be fitted with a hybrid or electric motor. The Swedish manufacturer is turning towards sustainability by halting the development of its most polluting powertrains. Leading the change is the new XC40 crossover.
From 2019, every model produced by Volvo will have a zero-emissions engine. The Swedish manufacturer has announced a shift in favour of the electrification of its entire range. This is not, in truth, the first announcement of its kind in the automotive world, but it represents a crucial step for the concreteness with which it has been formulated. The standard-bearer of this transition will be the new XC40 crossover. A car that is fundamental to the process of relaunching the Nordic brand under Chinese company Geely, which controls the Gothenburg marque, as well as the culmination of a global project based on a new platform, called CMA (Compact Modular Architecture), which allows — by virtue of a single floorpan and the resulting significant economies of scale — every kind of sustainable powertrain to be chosen.
The XC40 will be the first zero-emissions Volvo, meaning it will be powered solely by batteries. A car that breaks with tradition, to the extent of bringing with it the halt to the development of conventional powertrains, diesel ones in particular. Beyond the refinements already planned for existing petrol and diesel engines, after the XC40's debut the Swedish manufacturer will no longer invest in any new engine powered exclusively by fossil fuels. Substantial resources will instead be directed towards the development of hybrid systems, ranging from 48-volt mild hybrid technology — where the zero-emissions motor acts simply as a support to the combustion engine — to the plug-in solution, with cars capable of covering tens of kilometres in purely electric mode, thanks to the adoption of particularly powerful batteries that can be recharged not only during deceleration and engine off-load phases, but also via the domestic electricity grid or public charging points.
The XC40, as mentioned, should be regarded as a transitional car. It will in fact be the Swedish marque's first electric vehicle, it will make use of the transverse-engine platform recently introduced by the Chinese parent company, it will inaugurate a new stylistic direction characterised by sculpted lines and sharp edges, and, last but not least, it will open the door to a new family of hybrid engines. The current Volvo range can count on the T8 plug-in module, consisting of a turbocharged and supercharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine driving the front wheels, paired with an 82 hp electric motor that transmits power to the rear axle. A refined, and costly, configuration that delivers four-wheel drive on the one hand, and 400 hp and 640 Nm of torque on the other, along with fuel consumption of nearly 50 km/l and a range, in purely electric mode, of several tens of kilometres. With the XC40's debut, a new hybrid powertrain will be introduced — more affordable and more frugal — called the T5 Twin Engine. This is a turbocharged direct-injection three-cylinder petrol engine paired with an electric motor, featuring front-wheel drive and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. A further step towards sustainability, given that the new technology promises very low fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
The first pure electric car, built in China, will be joined by four further battery-powered vehicles by 2021. Of these, two will carry the Volvo badge and two will be under the Polestar banner — the Swedish manufacturer's performance division — which is set to become a fully-fledged brand for high-performance zero-emissions models. Among the features common to the new cars will be a range of at least 500 km. One of the best figures on the market for a brand that, buoyed by the imminent sustainable shift, expects to sell more than one million "electrified" units by 2025.