The Volvo XC40 Recharge P8 is Volvo’s first ever fully electric car. It is based on the best-selling XC40 small premium SUV, the first Volvo model to win the prestigious European Car of the Year award.
Like the XC40, the XC40 Recharge P8 is based on the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA), an advanced vehicle platform co-developed within the Geely Group. CMA provides Volvo with the necessary economies of scale for this segment.
Inside, an innovative approach to all-round functionality provides drivers with plenty of storage space. The XC40 Recharge P8 offers several large and smartly designed storage compartments in the doors, under the seats and in the trunk. Not having an internal combustion engine means that the car provides drivers with even more storage space, via a so-called ‘frunk’ storage space under the front hood.
Connectivity and infotainment
The XC40 Recharge P8 is the first Volvo model equipped with a brand new infotainment system powered by the Android operating system. The new infotainment system offers customers unprecedented personalisation, improved levels of intuitiveness and new embedded Google technology and services, such as the Google Assistant, Google Maps and the Google Play Store.
It is also the first Volvo that receives larger software and operating system updates over the air, placing Volvo Cars at the forefront of automotive connected services. The XC40 Recharge P8 will keep evolving and improving over time, rather than being at its peak when it leaves the factory.
Powertrain technology
The XC40 Recharge P8 comes with a state-of-the-art, fully electric all-wheel drive powertrain that offers a range of over 400 km on a single charge under the WLTP drive cycle and output of 408hp. The battery charges to 80 % of its capacity in 40 mins on a fast-charger system.
Safety and driver assistance
While building on the excellent safety standards of the original XC40, Volvo Cars safety engineers had to completely redesign and reinforce the frontal structure of the XC40 Recharge P8 to deal with the absence of an engine, meet Volvo Cars’ high safety requirements and help keep occupants as safe as in any other Volvo.
The battery is protected by a safety cage which consists of a frame of extruded aluminium and has been embedded in the middle of the car’s body structure, creating a built-in crumple zone around it. The battery’s placement in the floor of the car also has the benefit of lowering the centre of gravity of the car, for better protection against roll-overs.
At the rear, the electric powertrain has been integrated in the body structure to realise a better distribution of collision forces away from the cabin.
The XC40 Recharge P8 is also the first Volvo model equipped with a new, scalable Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) sensor platform with software developed by Zenuity, the joint venture firm owned by Volvo Cars and Veoneer.
