Volvo C30 EV ready for Shanghai

Volvo has begun rolling out a demonstration fleet of C30-based EVs in China – the country likely to be its most important future market for the vehicle. The program, run in cohorts with Chinese local authorities, kicks off with two cars in the Shanghai district of Jiading.

Working with a local supervisory authority, the Shanghai International Automobile City Group, Volvo aims to collect data on consumer behaviour and expectations around EVs.

The world’s most populous nation is keen to show it’s serious about electric mobility, initially in the name of reducing dependency on oil and further along to reduce CO2 emissions. Having chosen Shanghai for a major EV pilot project and Jiading as the initial demonstration zone, the Chinese government has spent this year working on an infrastructure that will eventually take in more than 13,000 charging points and 15 battery swap stations.

Now owned by Chinese auto maker Geely, Volvo started building the C30 Electric in June this year, with production duties divided between its Ghent plant in Belgium and its Torslanda plant in Sweden. Already run in equivalent lease-based demo programs in Sweden and Belgium, it’s the first overseas-branded EV to participate in the Chinese pilot.

Its 20kWh battery gives it an operating range of up to 150km on a single charge at speeds of up to 130km/h. Volvo claims acceleration of 0-50km/h in four seconds. Recharging from a regular domestic power outlet takes about seven hours from flat to full. 

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