XC40 To Be The First Electric Volvo Car; Will Be Followed By XC90

All-electric SUV is expected to go on sale after the debut of the Polestar 2 in 2019

In April 2018, Volvo Cars announced that it aims for 50 per cent of its total sales to be all-electric by 2025. To achieve that, the carmaker had said that every one of its models will have a mild-hybrid, hybrid or an all-electric variant. While Volvo has various hybrid models on sale in global markets, it has now confirmed that the XC40 SUV will be the first car in its portfolio to get an all-electric variant.   

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The XC40 EV will debut after Volvo’s electric performance car sub brand, Polestar, launches its second offering, the Polestar 2, which is scheduled for 2019. After the launch of the all-electric XC40, the company will then follow it up with an all-electric variant of its flagship SUV, the XC90. This variant is likely to be launched with the third generation of the SUV, which is expected to go into production by 2021 and Volvo’s new facility in South Carolina, US.

When launched, the electric XC40 and XC90 will not be offered as separate models, in fact, they will be sold as variants alongside existing petrol and hybrid variants. Volvo already sells the XC90 T8 Excellence plug-in hybrid in India and it is priced at Rs 1.31 core (ex-showroom pan-India). Globally, the XC40 also gets a plug-in hybrid variant though Volvo is yet to announce its plans to introduce it in India.

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The XC40 will go on sale in India on July 4 this year. Initially, it will only be offered in the top-spec R-Design variant. It will be powered by a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine paired to an 8-speed automatic transmission and an all-wheel drive (AWD) system.

Also Read: 2018 Volvo XC40: First Drive Review