Volvo launches XC40 plug-in hybrid
Volvo adds electrifying new derivative to its XC40 range, making the Swedish brand the only to feature plug-in hybrid options across its entire product line-up.
While maintaining the minimalistic Scandinavian styling seen with the other derivatives in the XC40 range, the T5 Twin Engine model now features a charging port on the left front flank. The charging port is there to top up the 10.7 kWh energy-dense lithium-ion battery which powers the 61 kW electric motor. The motor not only supplements the 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, to produce a total of 196 kW but also enables the car to be fully electric for a distance of around 46 kilometres.
The model which will only arrive in 2020 in the European markets use the T5 Twin Engine powertrain which is a first to be used in Volvo’s Compact Modular Architecture platform in the XC40. Another first is the seven-speed twin-clutch automatic transmission featuring in a new Volvo model. UK clients can expect the first models to arrive in 2020, according to Greg Maruszewski, Managing Director of Volvo Car South Africa, “there is currently no plan for the new XC40 plug-in hybrid version to come to South Africa but if it did, we would anticipate a high level of interest. South African motorists are going green, we are seeing this with the Volvo XC90 T8 Plug-in hybrid; interest in this vehicle is at an all-time high.”
