Volvo XC40 Recharge And C40 Shift To RWD Design, Gain Improvements In Range And Charging Speed

Technically, this is Volvo’s first rear-wheel-drive vehicle the brand has made in decades.

The XC40 Recharge and C40 EV are getting some substantial upgrades, and as a result, are shifting from FWD or AWD with an equal power split among either axle, to RWD, or a RWD-biased AWD setup.

The big changes come from Volvo’s goal to increase the efficiency of its EV models. In doing so, it trades the standard 150kW (201 Horsepower) per axle setup, for brand-new self-developed units from Volvo. In AWD, twin-motor cars, the rear axle now is home to a 183kW (245 horsepower) unit, and the front axle gets an all-new 117kW asynchronous electric motor. Combined, the two units output 300kW, or 402 horsepower. The lower trimmed single-motor cars get a 175kW (234 horsepower) motor in standard range 69kWh battery form or 185kW (248 horsepower) motor in the extended range C40 or XC40 equipped with the larger 82kWh battery.

Volvo says these new motors, along with cooling performance in the battery packs, are enough to give a sizable range and charging speed boost to the two cars. Volvo claims that the extended range, twin-motor AWD XC40 can travel up to 500 kilometers (310 miles), up 62 kilometers (38 miles) from its previous WTLP rating. Charging speed is up too, the C40 and XC40 can now handle a maximum speed of 200KW.

Also, the PHEV Volvo XC40 gains an onboard charger upgrade, lifting its max charging speed to 6.4kW. Official North American pricing details haven’t been released yet, but we expect market-specific announcements to come very soon.

Become an AutoGuide insider. Get the latest from the automotive world first by subscribing to our newsletter here