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Volvo Continues Its EV Charge With Sleeker Recharge Model Revealed Next March

So far, the Chinese-owned Swedish company is all about the talk when it comes to EVs, having launched only one model - the rather small battery-powered crossover called XC40 Recharge.
Volvo C40 rendering 40 photos
Photo: Kleber Silva on Behance
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Based, as the name suggests, on the XC40 SUV that also comes with gasoline engines as well as hybrid setups - and even had a diesel option before Volvo decided to withdraw it from the market - the company's first full BEV has only entered production this October in Ghent, Belgium. Production for the U.S. market is scheduled to debut sometime during next year.

Speaking of plans, the Swedes are pretty with their backs against the wall, but it was they who put themselves in that position. The carmaker wants to have its lineup split in half between battery-powered electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. And nothing else. Oh, and they want to do it by 2025, which is a very short deadline in the automotive world.

That sounds ambitious, but if anything, Volvo's decision to give up on its diesel powertrain for the very successful XC40 is a sign the company isn't afraid to take drastic measures to meet its self-imposed goals. However, with four years left and only one fledgling BEV, Volvo obviously needs to pick up the pace, and it sounds like we'll be hearing everything about the manufacturer's plans come next March.

March is when the Geneva Motor Show would have normally taken place, which might suggest Volvo had something big in store before a pangolin in China decided to screw with those plans (and many others). Now, the company says it will use the same month to reveal more details about its electrification strategy, together with its next all-electric model.

Hakan Samuelsson, the Volvo CEO, played coy while speaking to Automotive News Europe: "We will keep you a bit in the dark until we show the car, but I promise you it will be a very good-looking car." He did say it would have a "more streamlined body" compared to the XC40 Recharge, though to be fair that doesn't necessarily mean too much considering how stocky the crossover is.

If the Concept 40.2 is anything to go by, we might be looking at something not very dissimilar to the Polestar 2: a hybrid between a crossover coupe and a jacked-up sedan. Whatever it will be, two things are certain: it will use the same CMA (compact modular architecture) platform as the XC40 Recharge and follow the brand's very appealing design language. Couple that with the promise of a sleeker body and we should be looking at a future sales success for Volvo.
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Editor's note: Volvo C40 rendering (by Kleber Silva) and XC40 Recharge P8 pictured in the gallery

About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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