Volvo has changed course. This time last year the importer was basically knocking on the head any talk of selling an electric vehicle in Australia.
But 12 months on the company is looking more kindly on zero-emissions vehicles such as the C30 Electric, which officially entered production last week. First European deliveries of the new car are scheduled for August.
"Currently we offer our small car customers the C30 DRIVe which uses just 3.9L/100km and emits just 104g/km CO2," says Volvo Car Australia Public Affairs Manager, Jaedene Hudson.
"The C30 Electric is the next step in green motoring from Volvo. We've seen the initial information from Volvo Cars Corporation and have expressed interest in the car. The next stage will be to put together a business case to see if the car will be viable in our market.''
50 units of the C30 Electric have been tested by users since 2010. The production model will run down the same line as petrol and diesel variants, at the company's Ghent plant in Belgium, but the vehicle is transported as a rolling shell to the factory in Göteborg, Sweden, where batteries, motor and other EV components are installed.
Volvo claims the C30 Electric, which can be fully recharged from a standard AC Mains power supply in seven hours, offers a range of up to 150km and can reach a top speed of 130km/h. Acceleration to 100km/h from a standing start takes 10.9 seconds.
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