Volvo ReCharge Concept
September 9, 2007 by Alborz Fallah
Volvo has enjoyed a phenomenal period of success in the last few years, with a glowing showroom of stylish and spirited cars, the brand is slowly changing its image from “another bloody Volvo” to “oh, that’s a nice Volvo“.
Part of this process is fuelled by Volvo’s quest to develop the next generation Hybrid system. The latest from the Volvo Monitoring & Concept Centre in Camarillo, California is the Volvo ReCharge Concept, a plug-in hybrid with four individual electric wheel motors.
Similar to the recent Toyota Plugin hybrid, the ReCharge can simply be plugged into a regular electrical outlet for some juice. On battery alone, the Volvo will cover around 100kms, but it is backed up by a 1.6-litre petrol engine that comes into play when the battery is sitting at 30% charge.
Now just think about that for a minute, how often do you travel more than 100kms a day? You drive to work, you pick up the kids, you drive home, maybe go out for some groceries, roughly 50-90kms for most people, which means that you’d probably visit the petrol station once every few months, if that. Not bad!
“This is a ground-breaking innovation for sustainable transportation. A person driving less than 100 kilometres a day will rarely need to visit a filling station. In the USA, this may apply to almost 80 percent of drivers,” says Magnus Jonsson, Senior Vice President Research and Development at Volvo Cars.
Volvo estimates that for those 80 percent, operating costs are expected to be about 80 percent lower than that of a comparable petrol-powered car.
Even when you do venture out of your 100km barrier, fuel economy will not go over 5.5-litres/100kms. Best of all though, CO2 emissions are significantly reduced.
“This plug-in hybrid car, when used as intended, should have about 66 percent lower emissions of carbon dioxide compared with the best hybrid cars available on the market today. Emissions may be even lower if most of the electricity in intended markets comes from CO2-friendly sources such as biogas, hydropower and nuclear power,” says Jonsson.
If you’re worried the batteries will die on you in ten years time, Volvo thinks otherwise. Using lithium-polymer battery technology, they are intended to have a useful life beyond that of the car itself.
Can you imagine visiting the petrol station once every two months as oppose to once a week?
Volvo will show off the ReCharge concept at this week’s Frankfurt Motor Show.
Tags: Volvo ReCharge Concept
They’ve finally put the electric motors in the wheels. And they’ve finally got a good battery that’s claimed to outlast the car… whether that means the car won’t last that long or the batteries are really that good is up for agruement. :)
Though in Australia, the elecricity mainly comes from coal power stations. So if anything, my elecricity bill will go up by not visiting the petrol station. And my pollution creating lifestyle will shift the blame to a more indirect source.
Otherwise, it is good to see manufacturers taking steps in a direction rather than recycling their rubbish automobiles.
Cheers
Steve
Great to see advances in the battery technology.
Recharging using coal fired power is not as bad as it first appears.All coal fired electricity generation cannot be shut down quickly in response to variations in demand & are used to maintain base load to maintain the grid twenty four hours a day.
This was the basis for off peak tariffs for hot water & space heaters.
This issue has not gone away in the age of private electricity but the private generation and distribution monopolies are trying to charge more & more for off peak power.
Modern time of use or smart metering could be used to allow economical recharging when the demand for electricity is at its lowest.
An electric motor for a short trip is perfect.
Even those who hate the thought of Hybrid can appreciate starting up from cold the 5 or 6 litre to go shopping 5km away is torture on a motor that is cold and is inefficient & highly polluting until warm.
The stench in the driveway is obvious.
The 100km range is fantastic.
How long till it hits the market???
http://www.pmlflightlink.com copied original wheel motor of US patent and manufactured in China for so many years ago, if you check their Hi-Pa drive within ep.espacenet.com has no patent. Right now, they copied once again at SAE 2004 expo is against US patents.
We contacted with Volvo and Ford since their board of directors meeting on May 12, 2004 they played double-hand strategy, try to pull us down to chapter 7, 7&11, and 13, then they can buy out on liquidation.
Pray for God’s righteousness, fairness and justice to help G1 Technology Inc fighting with old foxes and blood suckers.
i’m in the US and i want to know where i could find them, and for what price… does anyone know? am i going to have to buy it overseas, or do they have them selling here at volvo car dealerships in the US?