Volvo starts production of its highly-anticipated XC40 electric SUV

Today, Volvo started production of its highly-anticipated XC40 Recharge electric SUV, the first fully electric vehicle from the Swedish brand.

While Polestar, a Volvo-Geely subsidiary, has already launched its first all-electric car, the Polestar 2, Volvo has yet to launch a BEV under its own brand.

The company has already confirmed its plan for an all-electric version of its best-selling XC40 SUV as its first all-electric vehicle.

It was unveiled around this time last year, and the design is unsurprisingly extremely similar to the existing XC40.

Here are a few pictures of the XC40 Recharge electric SUV:

Volvo also confirmed the following specs for the XC40 Recharge:

• A 78 kWh battery pack for a range of “over 250 miles (400 km)” based on WLTP
• Dual Motor 300 kW powertrain (a 150 kW electric motor on each axle)
• 11 kW onboard charger and 150 kW DC fast-charging capability
• 0 to 60 mp in 4.7 seconds
• Top speed of 112 mph (180 km/h)

Today, Volvo announced that it started production of the all-electric version of the XC40 at its factory in Ghent, Belgium.

Volvo shared a few pictures of the start of production today:

Javier Varela, head of global industrial operations and quality at Volvo, commented:

“Today is a momentous occasion for Volvo Cars and for all employees here in Ghent. As we continue to electrify our line-up, the Ghent plant is a real trailblazer for our global manufacturing network.”

The company said that all Volvo XC40 Recharge that will be produced this year are already sold without confirming the volume it plans to produce this year.

The Volvo Xc40 Recharge is expected to start at around $55,000 before incentives in the US.