Power surge for electric Volvos | Car

It seems as if something went terribly wrong at Volvo during the assembly of the electric XC40 and C40. The popular SUVs used to have their electric motor in the front, but now the drive unit has moved to the rear. Yet nothing went wrong at the Volvo factory, because the new location of the drive was a deliberate choice.

Not that Volvo is short of buyers with the electric XC40 and C40. The Swedish brand holds a solid second position in the Dutch sales statistics for electric cars, just behind the Skoda Enyaq iV. Rounded off, one in ten EVs sold is a Volvo XC40 or C40. But the competition is fierce, as Volvo also knows, and the advance of the truly Chinese brands is inevitable. Volvo itself is now also a daughter of a Chinese company, Geely, but still likes to see itself as a real Swedish brand.

Volvo has now set itself the goal of increasing annual production to 1.2 million cars, almost doubling compared to 2022. Volvo wants half of its total production in 2025 to consist of fully electric cars. Not only the XC40 and C40 play a major role in that goal, the new EX90 (a large SUV) and Volvo’s new small EV – which will be introduced next year – should also contribute to the global growth of the Swedish brand.

To achieve that growth, Volvo is now first thoroughly tackling the XC40 and C40. Although the XC40 was introduced almost six years ago – the C40 came on the market with its sloping roofline in 2021 – it is certainly not a completely newly developed model. Last year the XC40 already underwent a thorough facelift, now it’s the turn of the electric powertrain. Volvo has chosen to no longer work with front-wheel drive. A rigorous decision, it has only happened a few times in the history of the car that a manufacturer chose to convert an existing model (Triumph Dolomite, MG ZT V8) from front to rear wheel drive.

Now this switch trick is much easier to perform with an electric car, especially if there is already a version with four-wheel drive – in other words: two electric motors. In the basic version of the XC40 and C40, the engine was first between the front wheels, in the new version the cars now have their primary e-motor in the back. The advantages? When transferring engine power to the road surface, the car finds much better traction. In addition, the steering is no longer affected by annoying driving forces on the front wheels.

Volvo immediately took the opportunity to introduce a new electric motor. It has been developed in-house and is also produced in-house. The basic rear-wheel drive version now has an engine power of 175 kW (238 hp), an increase of 5 kW (7 hp). In addition, the battery has a slightly larger capacity of 69 kWh (+2 kWh). New to the range is the XC40/C40 Single Motor Extended Range, with a 185 kW (252 hp) electric motor on the rear axle and the same large 79 kWh battery pack as the top four-wheel drive model, the traditional 408 hp Twin Motor Extended Range .

By using a new inverter that generates less heat and has greater energy density, Volvo has achieved significant efficiency gains. The range of the base model with 238 hp is 461 kilometers (WLTP) – 36 km more than before. The single motor version with the large battery pack has the longest range in the range: 573 km. The much more powerful twin-motor version gets 538 km from a full battery. Because the C40 has a better streamline, it has a range of 16 to 12 kilometers, depending on the chosen powertrain. The updated Volvo XC40 and C40 are still among the compact electric SUVs with the largest range.

But also in terms of driving characteristics, the XC40 and C40 can still easily compete with the best competitors. Even though the version with the large battery pack weighs almost 2000 kilograms, the car behaves as if it has to carry 500 kilograms less. To absorb the weight, Volvo has done much more than just install a set of stiffer shock absorbers. With that method, a car quickly loses its balance – many electric competitors can relate to that. With the powertrain upgrade, the chassis of the XC40 and C40 has also been further refined. Because wider tires are now mounted at the rear than at the front, the car not only has more traction, but also better directional stability. In that respect, the XC40 and C40 are still up to date.

Unfortunately, that cannot be said of the infotainment system. While the dashboard design is anything but outdated, the 9-inch center console control panel is like looking at a smartphone screen rather than a laptop. This makes small icons difficult to read and some functions difficult to operate. Moreover, some functions are tucked away very far in the system, so you have to perform several actions for the desired result. For safety reasons, this is no longer possible. In the next update of the XC40 and C40, the infotainment will be the first to receive an update.

Speaking of innovation: behind the scenes, Volvo is working hard on the further development of the electric powertrains and battery systems for electric passenger cars. A pilot project is currently underway in the Swedish city of Gothenburg with converted XC40s for taxi services, which can be charged wirelessly via induction at some locations in the city. A method that is mainly intended for vehicles that remain in motion throughout the day and cover around 100,000 kilometers on an annual basis. Think of taxis, ambulances and municipal services. For the time being, a charging capacity of 40 kW is achieved via this wireless method, while public charging stations usually do not exceed 11 kW.

Volvo wouldn’t be Volvo if safety was of secondary importance. Charging only takes place when the loading platform in the road surface – for example at a taxi rank – is free. If, for example, a cat shoots under the car during wireless charging, the charging session is immediately terminated – and the animal does not have to lose a life. Volvo expects the Wireless Charging system to be ready for production from 2025, and can also be offered to private buyers.