Volvo has now officially announced that its first electric vehicle will debut in 2019, offer at least 250 miles of range on a single charge, and cost somewhere between $35,000 to $40,000.
Lex Kerssemakers, Volvo Car USA's chief executive officer, confirmed such details as he spoke with members of the press at the Geneva auto show, according to Automotive News.
Volvo Will Unwrap First EV By 2019
When the company first unveiled plans to build an electric vehicle, there were questions regarding whether the notional vehicle would come at a price higher than Volvo's already-steep lineup and offer enough miles on a single charge that'll make it more useful than an urban commuter car, as Engadget puts it. The easy answer to both concerns is yes.
The price range given by Kerssemakers puts the 2019 EV at the lower end of Volvo's oft-pricey vehicle lineup. Moreover, it also puts the vehicle directly against the Chevy Bolt and Tesla's Model 3, both anticipated commercial EVs.
What Volvo's First EV Will Look Like
We heard the BMW i5 could be a Tesla Model 3 killer, are you wondering what the Volvo EV will look like?
The report from Automotive News adds that the form of the vehicle in question remains nebulous. The company will decide in the next few months whether it will borrow a preexisting nameplate or create a new one for its very first EV. That said, Volvo's roadmap is still an undeniably tall order with just two years left to develop the vehicle and push it out on the market.
Kerssemakers acknowledged the tight schedule but said that the company can reach the target release date by using Volvo's modular platforms.
It's not yet ready to cough up other details regarding the machine, but at that price and miles of range, one can surmise that the EV will likely be a sedan instead of an SUV. Kerssemakers stressed the importance of the vehicle's range, saying that consumers wouldn't gravitate to EVs unless it offers a "sufficient" range, even if the number largely surpasses the requirements of daily commute.
Volvo Enters The EV Scene
Volvo's entrance in the EV sphere is an important inroad for the company and the industry at large, since this way, more people will be introduced to environmentally friendly vehicles that are associated with a fairly upscale brand. Engadget notes that releasing an EV may also be crucial to Volvo's homebase success, since formidable EV manufacturer Tesla is seeing stellar sales in Sweden, the consistent uptick of which could prove slightly embarrassing for Volvo, supposing it dims its perception of Tesla being a genuine challenger in the EV space.
While the EV that's set to debut in 2019 is Volvo's first foray into electric vehicles, the company is no stranger to electronic developments in its own automobiles. The company already has a number of T8 Plug-In Hybrid versions of its vehicles, though it's important to note that these cars' fully electric-only range doesn't impress much in terms of EV standards.
Thrilled for Volvo's forthcoming EV? What are your expectations of it? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
