Volvo to Build First Electric Car in China

Volvo is joining the fold by building their first electric car.

Volvo just announced at the Shanghai Motor Show that they are working on their first fully electric vehicle and will be premiering it in China in 2019. From there, it'll be exported to other regions across the world. The car is still early in development and doesn't have an official name yet, but we do know it's being built on Volvo's Compact Modular Architecture (CMA). The architechture, which is the same as will be found in the upcoming V40, is designed for electrification. Volvo has also announced that they're planning a larger electric vehicle, also in 2019, to be built on the Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) platform, which is the platform that the XC90 SUV is built on.

The car will run on 100kWh batteries and when fully charged, should have a range of about 400km, putting it slightly below, but still in the same league, as the Tesla Model S 100D's 530km range. Volvo has also announced that the price point will hover somewhere around the $35,000-40,000 mark, putting it in direct competition with the Tesla's upcoming mid-range car, the Model 3.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the car is debuting in China, after being assembled in the company's Luqiao factory. The country is now home to both the world's largest auto market, and the largest electric vehicle market. This can be evidenced in the number of electric cars on show in the Shanghai motor show. China is investing heavily in electric vehicles in an attempt to improve air quality and hopefully ease congestion.

The new car will be built on Volvo's Compact Modular Architecture (CMA)

"Volvo Cars fully supports the Chinese government's call for cleaner air as outlined in the latest five-year plan. It is fully in-line with our own core values of environmental care, quality and safety," said Håkan Samuelsson, chief executive of Volvo Cars, in a statement. "We believe that electrification is the answer to sustainable mobility."

Last year, Volvo vowed to bet big on electric, and have stated a goal of selling a million electrified vehicles by 2025. This would include fully electric cars and electric hybrids. The company is also planning on offering plug-in hybrid versions of their entire lineup.

source: Business Insider^[1]