It was towards the end of last year when Volvo announced plans to unveil its second electric vehicle on March 2, 2021. While the model’s identity has been shrouded in mystery, the cat is now pretty much out of the bag. Automotive News reports the new EV in question will bear the name “C40” and is going to take the shape of a crossover coupe.
In an interview with AN, Volvo Retail Advisory Board Chairman Ernie Norcross described the upcoming zero-emissions model as being “a great-looking vehicle.” He went on to say the EV’s arrival in North America is “going to hit right where we need it to. We haven’t had a small crossover and consumers have asked for that.”
It’s seen by the dealers as an entry-level model, so it will be presumably smaller and more affordable than the XC40 Recharge P8 pictured here. It is unclear at this point whether the crossover-coupe will be sold purely as an EV or Volvo also has plans to offer the new upcoming vehicle with combustion engines as well to broaden its customer base.
Getting the 281-dealer network ready for EVs is going to take a lot of work and investments estimated to be in the tens of thousands of dollars to retool dealerships to sell and service cars that don’t have a traditional powertrain. Ernie Norcross told Automotive News that each and every dealership will have to spend anywhere between $50,000 to as much as $300,000, but these numbers are not final yet. Volvo’s dealer network is still crunching the numbers, but it’s a known fact the automaker is not looking to subsidize the investments made by dealers.
For 2021, Volvo wants a quarter of its global sales to be represented by plug-in hybrids and fully electric vehicles. The Swedish automaker owned by Geely is looking to become a purely electric brand by the end of the decade and to get there, it will launch a new EV every year. The upcoming C40 is expected to be followed in 2022 by the next-generation XC90 large SUV offered with both traditional and electric powertrains.
Source: Automotive News
