Volvo confirms an all-electric XC40 compact SUV is coming

The first Volvo-made all-electric vehicle is apparently going to be the Polestar 2, but the Chinese-owned Swedish automaker now confirms that it will also launch an all-electric vehicle under its own brand soon.

Yesterday, Volvo introduced a new three-cylinder Drive-E powertrain in the XC40 compact SUV.

At the same time, they confirmed that the vehicle will also have an all-electric powertrain:

“Furthermore, the new three-cylinder powertrain has been deliberately designed for integration into Twin Engine plug-in hybrid cars. A hybridised as well as a pure electric powertrain option for the XC40 will be added later.”

They didn’t confirm the timeline for bringing the electric powertrain to market.

Electrek’s Take

As we previously reported, we have been disappointed by the Polestar electric programs which don’t seem to live up to the initial hype so far. But Volvo also announced last year that its main brand is going to have electric motors (BEV, PHEV, HEV) in all its new vehicles by 2019.

While so far it has meant hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles, it inevitably will eventually mean all-electric vehicles. Now, it looks like XC40 could be the first one and I’m not mad. The XC40 is in an increasingly popular segment and the vehicle is awesome-looking.

With that said, I always think there’s an issue with making an electric version of an existing gas-powered vehicle because buyers start comparing them and especially their sticker prices.

The XC40 starts at ~$36,000 and it will be interesting to see how they will price the electric version. I think it will make or break the version of the car.