Car: We got on the first electric Volvo and Android and saw it disassembled

Two years ago, we thoroughly tested Volvo’s smallest SUV, the XC40, about which we wrote that it deservedly took the Car of the Year award. The model was first marketed in multiple gasoline and diesel versions, then recently the green numbered plug-in hybrid version came out in Hungary and the cover of the XC40 Recharge P8 AWD which is the first real electric car from the Swedish brand. With its 100 percent electric powertrain, it recently fell off.

In early March, we were able to perform a seat test on the brand new type, including at its “birthplace”, Ghent, Belgium, where production had to stop entirely due to the coronavirus. That he hasn’t been able to start again since then.

Treason signs

The newer XC40 with locally zero emissions is more easily recognized by the fact that its grill has been covered, since the electric drive does not need more serious cooling. Also a telltale sign is the P8 AWD Recharge logo on the right tail light, as well as the fact that there is no fuel cap on the right or that a charging connector is hidden under the left cover.

Perhaps the easiest way, of course, to “crash” the first electric Volvo is that when it passes us, it hardly has any other sound than the noise of the wheels, although the hybrid version is also capable of this production. During the first face-to-face meeting, we still didn’t have a chance to ride the electric XC40, but we managed to take the wheel.

The type is also “first” in that, unlike the standard XC40s and all other Volvos, Google’s Android software relies on its infotainment system. It is not about the image of the connected smartphone on the central screen thanks to Android Car, but rather that Android runs on the car’s own system.

Although the tested car was still running software very early, Volvo already seemed to have customized the user interface exactly as expected – the system did its job quickly and was pretty clear.

The manufacturer’s representatives informed us that it will not be possible to simply download Android as an update for other Volvo models, because its operation requires additional hardware. However, the clear goal is to migrate all new Volvos to Google software within a few years.

Less interesting is that by folding the hood, we can pay attention to a 30-liter storage compartment.

power supply

Beneath the cockpit of the up-and-coming XC40 is a 78 kWh lithium-ion battery. Like the entire car, the axle itself will be assembled in Ghent on a completely new production line that has just been delivered. As we learned, the fully insulated, cooled / heated battery contains 27 cells of 13.3 kilograms and the total weight of the battery is approximately 500 kilograms.

The cells will be sourced from Volvo at the Polish LG Chem plant in South Korea. It is well known that LG Chem has not been able to supply enough cells to its partners for a long time, however Volvo is confident that there will be no problems with the delivery of the units it has ordered. The electric XC40 only comes with LG Chem cells, but the manufacturer’s other hybrid models are also supplied by China CATL with battery parts.

At the moment, they didn’t want to reveal how many batteries will be assembled each year in Ghent.

Volvo does not conduct specific crash tests tailored to the electric XC40, but manufacturer representatives said the XC40 is already a safe type that does not require separate testing.

The battery allows a range of approximately 400 kilometers on a single charge. The manufacturer calculated it according to a WLTP standard that is stricter than the old NEDC but more permissible than the EPA, which provides the most realistic data. The good news is that the aksi can collect up to 150 kW of power from a DC charger, so it can be 80 percent charged in up to 40 minutes.

There is a will in it

The developers installed an axle electric motor in the XC40 Recharge P8 AWD, which is all-wheel drive in this way. The total power reaches 408 horsepower, in addition to which the torque of around 600 Nm comes instantly in all conditions.

All of this is enough to fire from a dead center at a speed of 100 in just 4.9 seconds, and the final speed is limited by electronics to 100 km / h.

As it has not yet been possible to drive the latest XC40, we cannot comment on driving dynamics yet, in any case it should be noted that due to the large battery the compact RV’s weight reaches 2.15 tonnes. This is not an insignificant fact, even if the battery and therefore the center of gravity have been kept as low as possible.

The first copies of the XC40 Recharge P8 AWD, which will soon be mass-produced in China in addition to Belgium, are expected to be available to European customers by the end of the year, but won’t arrive in Hungary until 2021.

In Germany, € 62,000 (HUF 21 million) is requested for the single version, an electric compact crossover available with a well-equipped R-Design package. The expected Hungarian price is still unknown.

The national base price of the XC40 is 9.2 million HUF, against which our O3 can be with standard equipment and a 163 hp gasoline engine. The peak is the 262 horsepower T5 Twin Engine hybrid plugin, which costs HUF 14.6-16 million, depending on the design.

Factory

Opened in 1965, the Ghent plant was Volvo’s first plant outside of Sweden, where the legendary Amazon model was first built and is now mostly abandoned by XC40 (CMA platform) and, to a lesser extent, V60 station wagons (SPA platform). Fully flexible production lines.

The 590,000-square-foot facility, which employs 6,500 people, produced 206,000 cars last year, and 93 percent of that volume went to export. The factory in the port increasingly derives the energy necessary for its operation from wind and solar energy.

If you want to know similar things at other times, you will like the Facebook page in the HVG Car section.