Volvo C30 BEV zero emissions plug-in hybrid announced

By Matt Brogan | September 18th, 2009

Following the recent announcement of the 99g/km Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe, and the plans to introduce a plug-in hybrid in 2012, Volvo has announced it is also evaluating the viability of an entirely electric-powered C30 known as BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle).

Unlike some battery-powered cars, the Volvo C30 BEV features the same safety, comfort and space as the standard car, including four seats, in much the same way Ford’s Focus BEV (announced yesterday) does.

The difference is that the C30 BEV is powered solely by electricity, emits no carbon dioxide emissions, and has a range of up to 150km/h. It also features a limited top speed of 130km/h and can reach 0-100km/h in less than 11 seconds.

In 2009, a small number of prototype versions of the C30 BEV have been built and tested internally by Volvo. In addition to focusing on performance and safety, much of the emphasis is on integration of the electric propulsion system with the rest of the car.

“The consumer must feel that this type of car is attractive both to drive and own. In order to ensure this, we feel that electric cars will have to be as comfortable and safe and offer similar levels of performance as cars with other power sources,” says Paul Gustavsson, Director of Electrification Strategy at Volvo Cars. “The learning from the C30 BEV project will help us to fulfill all these criteria’s and showcase Volvo’s determination to drive developments in the field of electrification.”

The Volvo C30 BEV is powered with a Litium-Ion battery that is charged via a regular domestic power socket. Recharging an entirely depleted battery via the regular household power supply system will take about eight hours.

Hagar

Plug in Hybrid = Coal Powered. There is no such thing as zero emission.

Sam 300TD

………..think outside the square. Why not use solar power to recharge the batteries. No coal there…..

Lazybones

Very true Sam, but then again not even walking is zero emissions.

Shak

WHy do people constantly talk about the way power is made. It doesnt matter for the first million or so EV’s as the grid always produces excess to cover base load requirements just in case. We are talking about the automotive world. People dont car e where the electricity come from, they dont care about the externalities associated with buyin a car. If they did, then the only cars we’d buy would be thos tiny three wheled things as the shipping and fuel used to transport produces so little emissions.
Tron

Shak,
The source of the power used to charge these cars is very important. What is the point of driving an electric vehicle, if the vehicle itself is being charged from a coal power grid? You are just changing the source of the emissions. Imagine if these cars were bought by the masses, sure we would have zero emissions on the road, but christ the strain on the cities power grid would be ridiculous. Unless countries are using nuclear power (which is this day and age is veryy viable, and should be used), these vehicles are simply switching the source of emissions.

lazybones

Tron, even a coal powered EV would produce a lot less emissions overall than the equivalent ICE powered car. Not to mention zero emissions from the car is good for residential air quality. Also these cars are global products, just because Australia is dragging its heels on renewables it doesn’t mean development should stop until we catch up. Look at Norway 98% electricity from renewables.

DGS

I love it, a Volvo with a turtle icon on the instument panel!!

I used to own some old volvos, they where nice and comfortable cars that could cruise at a reasonable speed (110 +) quite easy, why some people drive them so slow I will never know. At least this one has a technical reason for holding up traffic: low battery.
http://motor-parts.us/ cars

Why not use solar power to recharge the batteries…