Volvo is gearing up to launch its smallest SUV – and it’ll be electric-only.
The upcoming EX30 will be revealed on June 7, 2023, at which point orders will open. Volvo has confirmed the car should hit Australia before the end of 2023.
The EX30 will be smaller than the C40 and XC40, both of which are more than 4.4 metres long, and will reportedly use the Sustainable Experience Architecture underpinning other vehicles under the Geely umbrella like the Smart #1 and #2.
While pricing won’t be revealed until later this year, Volvo CEO Jim Rowan has previously said he expects the crossover to “reach a different price demographic”.
Smaller battery options, which Mr Rowan says will allow buyers to “choose the range that best fits their lifestyle and their budget”, are expected to help bring pricing down.
Volvo has high hopes for the small electric crossover, saying it will play a “big part” in achieving its ambitious sales target of 1.2 million cars per year by 2025.
In some markets Volvo may offer a subscription service for a minimum three-month term to also encourage buyers, though the company won’t offer swappable batteries as some Chinese automakers are doing.
It says it won’t do this due to safety reasons. The battery has been placed in a location which is in an ‘integral’ part of the car’s crashworthiness.
Volvo plans to become an EV-only brand by 2030, with its Australian line-up going all-electric by 2026.
The company already offers the electric C40 Recharge and XC40 Recharge Pure Electric in Australia, with the EX90 due in 2024.
We already have a good idea how the EX30 will look, thanks to patent images published on Spanish website Cochespias.
In terms of silhouette, it’s more upright than the larger C40 but somewhat more rakish than the XC40.
We already got a brief glimpse of the EX30 last year, with Volvo releasing a shadowy teaser that showed off the EX90-like tail lights.
While there are no patent images of the interior, the Spanish website also shared a trio of spy images from China of which one depicts the cabin.
There’s a large, portrait-oriented touchscreen that appears to be flanked by vertically oriented air vents, while the gear shifter is positioned on the steering column.
There’s a prominent ledge running along the dashboard, while the front floor appears to be flat with the centre console disconnected from the dashboard.
