Volvo has released details of its C30 hatchback based electric vehicle, which features all the safety, comfort and space you’d expect from a Volvo but in a car that runs exclusively on electricity. The company is already working on a Volvo plug-in hybrid we expect to see in 2012, but is looking past that to a city car of some kind.
The Volvo C30 is the first model we will try out with electric power,” Lennart Stegland, director of Volvo Cars Special Vehicles, said in a statement. “This car’s excellent properties in city traffic and its relatively low weight make it particularly suitable, since electric cars are primarily expected to be used in and around cities and for daily commuting.
A small number of the cars, called the C30 BEV (battery electric vehicle) have already been built and tested. Volvo says the early testing has focused largely on integrating the electric drive-train with the rest of the car.
Power comes from a 24 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery. Volvo says it recharges in eight hours. The battery is installed down the center of the car, and the motor sits where the engine would be in the conventional C30. By using this layout Volvo continue to put safety first and maintain the integrity of the crumple zones for most common collision scenarios.
The top speed of the C30 BEV is limited to 130 km/h, which Volvo says is plenty for daily driving. The car will reach 100 km/h from a standing start in under 11 seconds and has an estimated range of 150 kilometers. Volvo says the C30 BEV will suit 90 percent of Europeans’ daily driving needs.
