Volvo plans to release a new large SUV with an extended range (EREV), developed specifically for the American market. market. The model will be produced at the Ridgeville plant in South Carolina by the end of the decade.
Automaker Volvo plans to release an electric car with an extended range. According to the company, the new model will be a large crossover (SUV) designed specifically for American families, writes UNN with reference to InsideEVs.
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Amid rapidly growing global sales and software issues, Volvo plans to radically revise its electric vehicle plans.
On Tuesday, the automaker made a number of new announcements, including a significantly upgraded EX90 electric SUV, the start of production of the gasoline XC60 at the Ridgeville plant in the American state of South Carolina, and a new type of electric vehicle planned for release in the US by the end of the decade.
Volvo also confirmed on Tuesday that it will produce an extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) in the US, as sales of all-electric vehicles are projected to slow after the expiration of a federal tax credit that expires on September 30.
Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson said the company is developing the EREV specifically for the American market.
"We call it the second generation of hybrids," Samuelsson told reporters. "It behaves like an electric car, with very fast acceleration, but it has a built-in charger for extended range." "It's more of an electric car with a backup engine," Samuelsson said.
EREVs are electric vehicles with an onboard backup gasoline generator that can charge a high-voltage battery while driving. They function as electric vehicles, with electric motors driving the wheels, and batteries can be connected to chargers like conventional electric vehicles.
The gasoline generator helps to eliminate range anxiety – several automakers, including Hyundai, Nissan, Scout Motors, and Ford, are developing EREVs for the US market. This technology is already being implemented in China, where some EREVs even provide a range of up to 1450 km within the country's optimistic test cycle, the publication writes.
Volvo belongs to the Chinese Geely Group. Another brand from this portfolio, Lynk & Co., sells a large SUV with a 52.4 kilowatt-hour battery and 845 horsepower, capable of traveling over 1600 km within the Chinese test cycle. It is unclear whether the American Volvo EREV will follow suit, but it is certainly possible, the publication notes. Volvo does not disclose how the EREV will work or what range it can provide.
Volvo will develop its future EREV in several countries, but the vast majority of the work will be done in Sweden. However, it is worth noting that the car will still be focused on the US and will be produced at the Ridgeville plant by the end of the decade, the publication writes.
"Planning will largely focus on America, as the model must be truly suitable for Americans and large families in this country," Samuelsson said.
Volvo did not say which model would receive EREV technology, but the XC90 or a similar large SUV, it is noted, would be a logical candidate.
"The size and type of the XC90 is an extremely important product for this market," said Erik Severinson, Volvo Cars' Chief Commercial Officer. "It's also a segment where we see demand for plug-in hybrids or extended-range technologies."
Volvo recently unveiled the XC70 SUV in China – a plug-in hybrid with a long range and an all-electric range of 200 km. The EREV for the US market will be different from it, and the automaker says it will be a "very important" part of its future product portfolio.
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