- Volvo is planning to launch an extended-range electric vehicle in the U.S.
- The new model will be a large SUV and tailored for American families, according to the company.
- It will be manufactured at its plant in Ridgeville, South Carolina.
Amid spiraling global sales and software struggles, Volvo is planning a major overhaul to its electric vehicle plans.
The automaker made a raft of new announcements on Tuesday, including a massively upgraded EX90 electric SUV, the start of the gasoline XC60 production at its Ridgeville, South Carolina, plant and a new type of EV it plans to launch in the U.S. by the end of the decade.
Volvo also confirmed on Tuesday that it will manufacture an extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) in the U.S. as sales for fully electric cars are projected to slow down after the end of the federal tax credit, which expires on Sept. 30.
During a roundtable with reporters at its U.S. headquarters in Ridgeville, South Carolina, Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson said that the company is developing an EREV specifically for the U.S. market.
“We call it the second generation of hybrids,” Samuelsson told reporters during a media roundtable. “It behaves like an electric car, with very fast acceleration, but it has an onboard charger to extend the range,” Samuelsson added. “It’s more of an electric car with a backup engine.”
Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson at the XC60 U.S. production ribbon cutting ceremony in Ridgeville, South Carolina.
Photo by: Suvrat Kothari
EREVs are electric vehicles with a backup gasoline generator onboard, which can recharge the high-voltage battery on the go. They function as EVs, with the electric motors driving the wheels, and batteries that can be plugged into chargers like regular EVs.
The gasoline generator helps eliminate range anxiety—several automakers, including Hyundai, Nissan, Scout Motors and Ford are developing EREVs for the U.S. market. The technology is already taking off in China, where some EREVs even deliver as much as 900 miles of range on the country’s optimistic testing cycle.
Volvo is owned by China’s Geely Group. Another brand in that portfolio, Lynk & Co., sells one large SUV with a 52.4-kilowatt-hour battery and 845 horsepower that can do more than 1,000 miles of driving on China’s testing cycle. It’s unclear if a U.S.-made Volvo EREV could follow that pattern, but it’s certainly possible. Volvo did not disclose how its EREV will work, or what kind of range it might achieve.
Volvo will conduct the development work for its upcoming EREV in multiple countries, but the vast majority of that will happen in Sweden. However, it’s worth noting that it’s still going to be a U.S.-centric car, manufactured at the Ridgeville, South Carolina, plant by the end of the decade.
“The planning will be very much centered around America because this has to be really suitable for America and the big families you have in the country,” Samuelsson said.
Photo by: Volvo
Volvo didn’t share which model exactly will get the EREV technology, but the XC90—or a large SUV like it—would be a logical candidate.
“The XC90 size and type of vehicle is an extremely important product for this market,” Erik Severinson, the Chief Commercial Officer at Volvo Cars, said. “It’s also a segment where we see the demand for plug-in hybrid or extended range technology,” he added.
Volvo recently launched the XC70 SUV in China, which is a long-range plug-in hybrid with 124 miles of electric-only range. The EREV for the U.S. market will be different from that, with the automaker saying that it will be a “very important” part of its product portfolio going forward.
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