The Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric — the first all-electric car from the Swedish luxury brand — is officially coming to South Africa in 2021.
This all-electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) has already demonstrated strong sales internationally and now, Volvo has announced that it will be launching the popular new XC40 in South Africa in the second half of 2021. Thousands of orders were placed for the XC40 Recharge even before the formal start of sales in Europe last year. By the start of production in the company’s Ghent, Belgium, plant on October 1 last year, every car scheduled to be built that calendar year had already been sold.
According to Greg Maruszewski, Managing Director at Volvo Car South Africa, the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric is capable of travelling more than 400 km on a single charge. “It can be charged to 80% of its battery capacity in as little as 40 minutes using a fast charger,” he reveals.
The XC40 Recharge will deliver a brisk performance, with its twin electric motors allowing for a 0-100 km/h time of just 4.9 seconds. The vehicle comes fitted with an infotainment system, jointly developed with Google and based on the Android operating system. It provides consumers with Google apps and services built-in, such as Google Maps, Google Assistant and the Google Play Store.
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Other notable features is the sheer amount of space afforded to drivers and passengers in the XC40. The lack of an internal combustion engine frees up space for an additional 30-litre storage compartment — or ‘frunk’ — under the front bonnet, while the placement of the batteries under the centre of the car means space is not compromised elsewhere.
Owners will be able to charge the vehicle at a dealership, at home or at one of the ever-growing network of public charging stations. Volvo Car South Africa is also rolling out an extensive network of charging stations at its dealerships and, by the end of 2021, each Volvo dealership will have a charging station.
The XC40 is the first of five fully electric cars to be launched by the Swedish company over the next five years. “Volvo Cars will launch a fully electric car every year, as we look to make all-electric cars 50 percent of global sales by 2025, with the rest hybrids. Recharge will be the overarching name for all chargeable Volvos with a fully electric and plug-in hybrid powertrain,” Maruszewski explains.
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The launch of the XC40 Recharge is a significant step towards Volvo Cars’ ambition to reduce its CO2 footprint per car by 40 percent by 2025. “That same year, it expects 50 percent of its global sales to consist of fully electric cars, with the rest hybrids. But 2030, the company aims to only build electric cars,” he elaborates.
Maruszewski believes that the XC40 Recharge will find favour in South Africa. “South Africans are already firm fans of the internal combustion engine-powered XC40; it had an 8.40% share of its segment in 2019; that grew to 14.70% in 2020. We look forward to bringing the huge benefits of electric driving – and more – to an already award-winning package,” he concludes.
Volvo dealers will start taking orders for the XC40 Recharge in April. Deliveries will commence in August. The price of the XC40 Recharge will be confirmed later this month.
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