Volvo XC40 Recharge EV makes debut

Images and full details of the pure-electric Volvo XC40 Recharge that will be on sale in Australia by 2021 have been released.

Driven by two electric motors that provide all-wheel drive, they produce a combined 300kW and 660Nm, propelling the XC40 forward at a significant rate of knots.

The small Swede will sprint from 0-100km/h in a rapid-fire 4.9 seconds.

Powered by a 78kWh lithium battery located beneath the floor between both axles, Volvo claims the XC40 Recharge can cover a WLTP-verified 400km between charges.

Speaking of which, using a rapid 150kW charger a 0-80 per cent charge is said to take just 40 minutes, although using a Volvo-supplied 11kW wall-box at home takes a little under eight hours for a full charge from flat.

Inside, the 2018 carsales car of the year-winning XC40's cabin carries over largely unchanged from its fossil-fueled siblings, although it now gets an all-new infotainment system that runs new Google Android software.

It's understood that the XC40 Recharge is part of Volvo Australia's future product plans, with a launch expected to happen in 2021, just months after the battery-powered XC40 makes its debut in Europe in late 2020.

Pricing for the new model has not been announced but it will command a premium over the current XC40 price range of $46,990 to $56,990.

Until the XC40 Recharge arrives, Australian buyers interested in a more efficient Volvo XC40 will have the option of a new plug-in hybrid XC40 that could arrive as early as April or May of 2020.

Teased several times in the lead-up to its reveal, previewed by an image of the XC40 Recharge EV's bare-bones (an electrified version of the brand's existing Common Modular Architecture or CMA), there are only a few visual cues that give away its EV pretensions. Different alloy wheel designs, a blanked-out grille and tiny 'Recharge' logos on the C-pillar identify the SUV as an EV.

If the idea of a Volvo EV seems difficult to comprehend, get used to it.

Marking the Swedish brand's first-ever battery-powered car, the Scandinavian car-maker says half the cars it will sell globally by 2025 will be pure-electric as Volvo seeks to slash tailpipe emissions and become carbon neutral by 2040.

"We have said this several times before: for Volvo Cars, the future is electric," said Håkan Samuelsson, CEO of Volvo Cars.

"Today we take a major new step in that direction with the launch of our fully electric XC40 and the Recharge car line."

There will be other options in the Volvo range for those who want to plug-in.

Indeed, if you have your heart set on switching to electric, the Swedish brand's pure-electric premium marque Polestar is coming soon, with the Polestar 2 EV set to touch down in Australia potentially by August 2020.

The Polestar business model will see its high-performance EVs sold exclusively online.