The Volvo XC40 EV is now on sale in the UK for £53,155. Volvo’s first all-electric car will arrive at dealers in late 2020. The XC40 is not eligible for the £3,000 Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG) because it costs more than £50,000.
This is because Geely-owned Volvo will only offer the R-Design trim in the left-hand drive. The compact SUV has a claimed range of more than 248 miles and shares much technology with the Polestar 2.
Power is drawn from a 78kWh underfloor battery, with Volvo citing a WLTP-certified range of more than 248 miles. Charging is available through an 11kW AC charger or a 150kW DC fast-charger, which the firm says can deliver an 80% charge in 40 minutes.
The vehicle largely retains the exterior and interior styling of the conventional XC40, albeit with the addition of a new sealed fascia in place of the traditional radiator grille for the combustion engine. The model also gets Recharge branding and other minor design tweaks, while the charging port is located on the rear pillar of the car in the same place as a traditional petrol cap.
Built on the same Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) platform as the regular XC40, the Recharge version retains largely the same dimensions with a length of 4425mm and a width of 2034mm. Because of the underfloor batteries, the XC40 Recharge has a slightly reduced ground clearance of 175mm, compared to 211mm on the regular model.
The XC40 Recharge offers 413 litres of luggage capacity, a reduction of 460 litres for the regular model although, due to the space saved by the lack of a combustion engine. The machine weighs a minimum of 2150kg, compared to 1497kg for the combustion-engined version.
The XC40 Recharge is also the first Volvo to feature a new infotainment system powered by the Google Android operating system. That system features Volvo On Call, the firm’s digital platform.
However, the electric Volvo will no longer be eligible for the UK plug-in car grant. Specifically, the new policy includes grants of 3,000 pounds for electric cars but only up to a list price of £50,000.
