Volvo is planning to develop its EV lineup on the behest of guardian firm Geely, Reuters reported Thursday.
The automaker plans to launch six new EVs by 2026, in keeping with the report, which cites two nameless sources with data of Volvo’s product plans.
Volvo was already no slouch within the transition. It was one of many first manufacturers to announce that it is going all-electric—by 2030, in its case, and simply final 12 months Volvo Vehicles’ prime govt stated that they are anticipating value parity with gasoline fashions round 2025.
2023 Zeekr 009
However now, along with electrical variations of its present lineup of sedans and crossover SUVs, Volvo is planning some fashions aimed particularly at Asian markets, in keeping with the report.
Among the many new fashions is a luxurious van based mostly on the Zeekr 009, a mannequin from considered one of Geely’s Chinese language-market manufacturers. Anticipated to start out deliveries in China later this 12 months, the 009 is a six-seat van with a claimed 0-62 mph time of 4.5 seconds. It additionally boasts a model of CATL’s newest cell-to-pack tech, affording an estimated vary of 514 miles on China’s CLTC testing cycle (which might be near 400 miles on the extra stringent EPA testing cycle).
The van could have a extra “emotional” design than present Volvo fashions, which is taken into account higher suited to Chinese language tastes, in keeping with the report. Improvement work on each the van and future sedans will reportedly be dealt with by the automaker’s Shanghai improvement middle.
2024 Volvo EX90
The emphasis on capturing extra gross sales in Asia means these future Volvo EVs could not make it to the U.S. Volvo is at the moment promoting the XC40 Recharge and C40 Recharge crossovers right here, and each are due for a variety enhance and rear-wheel drive variations for the 2024 mannequin 12 months.
Volvo revealed the 2024 EX90 final November, though it nonetheless hasn’t offered spec-level particulars on that mannequin. An govt did verify that its {hardware} shall be prepared for AC and DC bidirectional charging—one thing that future Volvo EVs would possibly comply with towards a decrease efficient CO2 footprint if their packs are additionally used to assist clean demand on {the electrical} grid.