Volvo Cars claims it has solved one of the biggest hurdles to electric vehicle adoption — range anxiety — with its forthcoming EX60 midsize SUV, declaring 503 miles of range between charges with an all-wheel drivetrain.
What’s more, the vehicle, currently in end-stage real-world testing, claims to offer up to 211 miles “nearly as fast as a fuel stop” in just 10 minutes charging using a 400 kW fast charger.
“The EX60 is designed to be a game changer,” Anders Bell, Volvo Cars’ chief technology officer, said in the Jan. 7 release.
“With our new electric vehicle architecture, we directly address the main worries that customers have when considering a switch to a fully electric car,” he added. “The result is class-leading range and fast-charging speeds, marking the end of range anxiety.”
Range varies with the size of the vehicle’s battery, but the 503 miles achieved in preliminary test results put the EX60’s range more than 100 miles higher than other midsize SUVs such as the Kia EV4 Long Range, Renault Scenic and Tesla Model Y Long Range.
Actual range depends on various factors including charge level, car specification, outdoor temperature, battery temperature, weather, topography, driving style and car speed, Volvo said.
Volvo said the EX60’s claimed range is owing to its most advanced SPA3 electric vehicle platform. This builds the battery pack directly into the car’s structure using “cell-to-body” technology while also using in-house-developed e-motors, boosting efficiency and cutting weight.
The battery pack’s new cell design balances energy density and power delivery to boost range and fast-charging speeds are made possible with its new 800V electric system, Volvo said.
The EX60 is also the first Volvo model built using megacasting, where hundreds of smaller parts are replaced with a single, high-precision casting in the production process.
Volvo said all EX60 customers will get a 10-year warranty on the battery, albeit no mileage limit has yet been announced.
Volvo will officially unveil the new EX60 on Jan. 21. Europe will be its initial market.
