Volvo released today a press release reviewing its outlook for the first half of 2020, which will be much weaker than expected due to the economic havoc the coronavirus pandemic is causing. However, this slowdown will not affect the investments in “new technologies and products” of the Swedish automaker.
One of the most positive signs is the rapid recovery of the Chinese market, which a few months ago was experiencing the problems that are now occurring in regions such as Europe or North America. According to the Swedish firm, its Chinese plants are already operational again, and the influx to dealers is recovering.
Polestar has even started to produce the new Polestar 2, the first production electric car developed by Volvo/Polestar (which will follow soon in Volvo XC40 Recharge P8, the big news for the Swedes for this year). Therefore, despite Volvo’s European and American plants being temporarily closed due to the pandemic, the firm is confident of a speedy recovery once the crisis is resolved.
The first Volvo EV is the XC40 Recharge P8, which is a C-SUV equipped with a 78 kWh battery, more than enough to give it a range of about 430 km WLTP. Based on the CMA modular platform, also used in the Polestar 2, it will have 408 hp, 600 Nm of torque, all-wheel drive, and will be able to do the 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.9 seconds.