Volvo Car India has unveiled the C40 Recharge, which will be its second electric car offering after XC40 Recharge. While the bookings of this all-electric crossover will commence in August, deliveries are slated to begin in September. While the Swedish carmaker didn’t reveal the price points of the C40 Recharge, it indicated that the product will be a bit more expensive than the XC40 Recharge (priced at Rs 56.90 lakh, ex-showroom).
“This is our first Born Electric SUV and is going to be a game changer for us. This will be a premium offering by us,” Volvo Car India Managing Director Jyoti Malhotra told Moneycontrol on the sidelines of unveiling the model. When asked about the sales target for this model, he said, “Our objective is to expand the pond. More customers should come forward and buy electric cars.”
Built on the Compact Modular Architecture platform, the C40 Recharge is powered by the same 78 kWh battery-pack as the XC40 Recharge and has a claimed range of 530 km per charge. Offered in a single AWD version, the e-SUV is equipped with twin motors and has a maximum power output of 408 hp and a max torque of 660Nm. It also has the option to fast charge the battery from 10 percent to 80 percent in 27 minutes.
“This will attract a younger set of customers and the sales mix will have a better male-female ratio. They are progressive thinkers and want to make a difference and make a style statement,” added Malhotra. He also asserted that the C40 Recharge will also be a critical pillar in its mission towards an all-electric portfolio in the medium term
The C40 Recharge would be imported as completely knocked-down units and assembled at the company’s Bengaluru facility as it is being done with the XC40 Recharge. It was earlier reported by Moneycontrol that Volvo plans to import kits of its electric cars from its facility in China for assembly and sale in India.
Earlier this year, Volvo Car India had stated that it could go fully electric in India by around 2025, much ahead of its global target of becoming a full-electric car company by 2030.
The Swedish carmaker, owned by Geely of China, plans to introduce one electric vehicle every year in India. It will also be rolling out the Volvo EX90 SUV, which will be replacing the XC90 globally and is scheduled to go on sale internationally in 2024.
While the company didn’t share any pricing and other details of the seven-seater electric SUV, the speculation is that it will be priced close to the XC90, which comes for around Rs 1 crore (ex-showroom).
The company also expects battery-driven cars to play a significant role in its bid to close in on record sales in India this year. While it sold around 1,800 units in the domestic market, its sales were at an all-time high in 2018 at 2,600 units.
Asked if the company could cross record sales this year, Malhotra told reporters, "We want to cross it. From the demand side I am very confident but from the supply side there are still constraints. The supply chain constraints are mostly to do with semiconductors," he said, adding that the average waiting period at present "is about three months across models".
Volvo Car’s current India portfolio comprises the fully-electric XC40 Recharge, apart from SUVs XC90, XC60 and XC40, and the S90 sedan.
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