Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson believes extended-range plug-in hybrids could play an important role in Europe’s electrification transition, strengthening the possibility of the new XC70 being sold here.
The XC70 was previewed last week as a mid-sized PHEV SUV to sit in between the XC60 and XC90, with a claimed electric range of 124 miles – far more than any PHEV the brand currently sells.
It will be built in China on a platform supplied by Volvo’s parent company Geely, and while it is destined initially for a roll-out in China, Volvo said it was considering a global launch – and now Samuelsson has said its drivetrain could be a logical addition in European markets.
Speaking at the Financial Times Future of the Car conference, he said: “In certain regions in Europe, the charging network will be developed later. If you look into the south and east of Europe, it will be slower.
“The ones leading are Norway all the way in the west. There, there will be faster transition to electrification. But in other regions, it’s really a good solution to have a long-range hybrid, because if you look into the environmental aspect, if you have a long-range hybrid, the absolute majority of the transport work will be done with electricity. And so in that way, it will be an ‘electric car‘.
“If you have a very short range, a large part of the transport work will be done with the petrol. And then, of course, it’s not fossil-free anymore. So a long-range plug-in hybrid, I would argue, is an electric car with a back-up engine when the battery is flat, which will happen not so often.
“So I think it’s a good solution, it’s a good bridge and there is a lot of technology in that car which is in common with an all-electric car.
“It’s a pragmatic bridge solution to wait for our customers to really feel comfortable with an all-electric car.”
Samuelsson stopped short of confirming in which European markets Volvo could launch the XC70 or other long-range hybrids, nor did he give a timeframe.
What is the Volvo XC70?
Volvo has revived the XC70 name for a new long-range PHEV SUV for the Chinese market.
It has been designed specifically “to meet the demand for longer-range plug-in hybrids in China”, but Volvo also said it will explore “potential additional markets at a later stage”.
Technical details remain sparse, but Volvo has promised an electric range of up to 124 miles, which is more than double what the similarly sized XC60 PHEV can achieve.