Recharge for South Africa
Following hot on the heels of the international reveal of the C40 Recharge, Volvo Car South Africa has announced that the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric – the first all-electric car from the Swedish luxury brand – will be launched in South Africa in the second half of this year.
The all-electric SUV has already demonstrated strong sales internationally. With thousands of orders placed even before the formal start of sales in Europe last year, it is a bold move from the Swedish manufacturer to launch it here, as local sales of electric vehicles are still dismal.
The XC40 Recharge Pure Electric is capable of travelling more than 400 km on a single charge and can be charged to 80% of its battery capacity in as little as 40 minutes, using a fast charger, It also delivers brisk performance with a 0-100 km/h time of just 4.9 seconds, thanks to its twin electric motors producing 304 kw of power and 660 Nm of torque.
While it has pleasing performance, the XC40 Recharge scores highly in terms of practicality as the lack of an internal combustion engine frees up space for an additional 30 l storage compartment – or ‘frunk’ – under the front bonnet, and the placement of the batteries under the car means space is not compromised elsewhere.
Owners will be able to charge the vehicle at a dealership, at home, or at one of the ever-growing network of public charging stations. Volvo Car South Africa is rolling out an extensive network of charging stations at its dealerships and each one will have a charging station by the end of 2021.
The XC40 Recharge comes with one of the best infotainment systems on the market, jointly developed with Google and based on the Android operating system. It provides consumers with Google apps and services built-in, such as Google Maps, Google Assistant, and the Google Play Store.
Unlimited data enables superior connectivity, and the XC40 Recharge will receive software updates over the air. The XC40 and C40 is the first two of five fully electric cars to be launched by the Swedish company over the next five years. Their introduction is a significant step towards the ambition of Volvo Cars to reduce its CO2 footprint per car by 40% by 2025.
The XC40 Recharge is now built alongside the new C40 Recharge at the Volvo Cars manufacturing plant in Ghent, Belgium. Volvo dealers will start taking orders for the XC40 Recharge this month and deliveries will commence in August. The price of the XC40 Recharge will be confirmed later this month.