Relax & Recharge

Volvo finally bring the XC40 Recharge, their first all-electric SUV, to India, which is a significant step towards the Swedish firm's proposed carbon-neutral future

- Sarmad Kadiri

VOLVO, THE WELL-KNOWN SWEDISH CAR COMPANY, PROMISE TO go carbon-neutral with an all-electric line-up by 2030. Their Indian arm plans to do this even sooner and what you see on these pages is the first step in that direction: the XC40 Recharge, a trendy and premium fully electric SUV.

Volvo have essentially taken the conventional XC40, removed the internals, and mounted in a battery pack, a couple of electric motors, and cutting-edge electronics.

That's the beauty of the Recharge; it doesn't look very different from its internal combustion engine (ICE) sibling but still manages to give enough hints that it is all-electric. Like the standard XC40, the Recharge has nice proportions and it looks compact, , though this EV is 15 millimetres longer (to accommodate the battery pack) than the petrol/diesel version. The front grille is replaced by a body-coloured plastic strip, it has slightly different alloy wheels, and there is minimum use of chrome. And, of course, there are the green registration number-plates since it's an electric vehicle. That's about it.

Visually, the cabin is indistinguishable, too, but a major difference here is that the door linings and carpet are made of recycled plastic bottles which do justice to the Recharge's green intentions. Overall, the layout has the usual robust build and minimalistic character of most Volvo cars. The production version get a will get faux wood accents and leather-free (leatherette) upholstery, unlike what our test car sported.