Volvo launches first all electric car

Volvo has unveiled its first electric vehicle (EV), the XC40 Recharge, which will be the first of five new EVs over the next five years.

The Swedish company wants EVs to make up 50% of its global sales by 2025, with the rest hybrids, and ‘Recharge’ will be the overarching name for all chargeable Volvos with a fully electric and plug-in hybrid powertrain.

To further encourage electric driving, every Volvo Recharge plug-in hybrid model will come with free electricity for a year, provided through a refund for the average electricity cost during that period.

The XC40 Recharge has a fully electric all-wheel-drive powertrain that the company claims offers a range of over 400 km (WLTP) on a single charge and output of 408hp. The battery charges to 80 % of its capacity in 40 mins on a fast-charger system.

Volvo says they will now triple production capacity for electrified cars.

HÃ¥kan Samuelsson, Volvo Cars  chief executive said: ‘We have said this several times before: for Volvo Cars, the future is electric,

‘Today we take a major new step in that direction with the launch of our fully electric XC40 and the Recharge car line.’

The onboard entertainment system is powered by Google, meaning all new models will come fully equipped with Google Assistant, Google Play Store, Google Maps and other Google services

Henrik Green, senior vice president of research and development at Volvo Cars added: ‘Bringing Google services into Volvo cars will accelerate innovation in connectivity and boost our development in applications and connected services,

‘Soon, Volvo drivers will have direct access to thousands of in-car apps that make daily life easier and the connected in-car experience more enjoyable.’