Volvo’s pure-electric rival to the Tesla Model 3 is on track to arrive in Australia next year.
The 2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge will be here in the second half of 2021, a Volvo spokesperson this morning confirmed.
When it touches down, the Recharge will kickstart a push into the world of pure-electric vehicles that will also include the Polestar brand.
Volvo Australia managing director Nick Connor earlier this year said he was hoping the XC40 Recharge would touch down before the end of 2020.
“We were hoping to get it in at the back end of this year, obviously with current supply issues it’s going to be 2021,” Mr Connor told CarExpert.
The XC40 Recharge will be the first pure-electric Volvo in Australia, and follows in the footsteps of the plug-in hybrid XC40 that went on sale earlier this year.
Power comes from electric motors on each axle, drawing on a 78kWh lithium-ion battery pack. With 300kW of power and 660Nm of torque, the XC40 Recharge will scoot to 100km/h in just 4.9 seconds from standstill.
Claimed range is 418km, and Volvo says the car can be fast charged to 80 per cent in 40 minutes.
Pricing hasn’t been revealed, but the first examples of the XC40 Recharge in the United Kingdom start at north of $100,000 before on-road costs.
Mr Connor said that pricing won’t necessarily translate to Australia.
“I would hope that we can price it below $100,000 – the point is it needs to be competitive in the market, whichever market we sell it in, but I don’t see it as selling at six figures,” he told CarExpert.
The XC40 Recharge will go head-to-head with the Tesla Model 3 and Hyundai Kona Electric in Australia when it arrives.
The Model 3 was last week treated to a price cut, meaning it’s priced from $66,900 before on-road costs and extends to $90,900 before on-roads for the top-spec Performance.
Hyundai’s flagship electric vehicle (for now) kicks off at $60,470 before on-roads, and extends to $65,290 before on-roads.
