Swedish vehicle manufacturer Volvo has reaffirmed their commitment to fully electrify their vehicle lineup, announcing recently at the SAE 2017 Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Technologies Symposium in San Diego that their first all-electric will be rolling off in 2019 and its a platform that could support 100kWh batteries. This will be Volvo’s first all-electric but will be their third plug-in vehicle following the V60 and XC90 plug-in hybrid vehicles.
According to Mats Anderson, Senior Director of Electric Propulsion Systems at Volvo, the company is developing a Modular Electrification Program (MEP), a set of modular building blocks for electrification that will allow Volvo to cost-effectively deliver vehicles ranging from 100 to 450kW of propulsive power as well as 100kWh battery packs.
100kWh battery packs can enable a range of over 300 miles depending on the vehicle efficiency and will most likely be the high-end option as a smaller battery pack is sufficient for urban usage and day to day use. Volvo also has not announced yet what type of vehicle will be sporting the 100kWh battery packs or which one is rolling off the lot first. The Swedish manufacturer has earlier revealed two new car concepts that are the most likely candidates: Concepts 40.1 SUV and 40.2 sedan.
Volvo’s commitment to going electric has a target aim of up to 1 million electrified vehicles by 2025. Their current award-winning XC90 has actually been very well received and is competing closely against Mitsubishi’s Outlander plug-in hybrid vehicle. Volvo is planning on releasing one more plug-in hybrid by next year as well.
