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Volvo has launched the new, all-electric C40 Recharge for an introductory price of Rs 61.25 lakh, ex-showroom, India. The brand will officially commence bookings for the C40 Recharge from September 5, 5pm onwards. Deliveries are set to commence sometime next week.
The C40 Recharge is essentially the XC40 Recharge re-fashioned into an SUV-coupe; the all-electric SUV, Volvo claims, contributed 25 percent to the brand's total sales in the first half of 2023 (Jan-June 2023). This will be the second EV in Volvo’s India line-up, one with which the brand intends to push its EV penetration to 35 percent by next year. Unlike the XC40 Recharge, which also has a petrol counterpart in India, the C40 is only available in an all-electric guise.
The C40 Recharge looks largely similar to its SUV counterpart, save for its rear where the roofline has a coupe-like finish and a steeply raked rear windscreen. This has led to a redesigned tailgate and tail-lamp assembly – the tail lamps are a lot slimmer, have a wider wraparound effect, and get new reverse lights. The LED light elements are also fragmented towards the top, instead of the continuous strip found on the XC40 Recharge. Unlike the SUV, the LEDs also protrude onto the tailgate and the overall design gives the C40 Recharge a much wider stance when viewed from the rear.
There’s also a new two-part spoiler – one on the boot lid that’s blacked out, and one on the roof with a unique twin-pod design aimed at improving aerodynamics. And while the bumper remains unchanged from the SUV, the rear design of the C40 Recharge looks a lot sportier than the XC40 Recharge. Additionally, the window line has also been slightly redesigned due to the sloping roofline. The C40 Recharge also exclusively gets Pixel LED headlights that you'll not find in any other Volvo in India, yet.
Elsewhere, the C40 Recharge remains unchanged from its SUV sibling: the headlamps with Thor’s Hammer LED daytime running lamps; the front bumper and hood; the contouring on the doors; and the dual-tone 19-inch alloy wheels. There’s generous plastic cladding on the lower sides to enhance the SUV character, while the rising window line, which kicks up at the rear, plays to the coupe look.
On the inside, the dashboard design is typically Volvo and, unsurprisingly, is identical to the XC40 Recharge. It continues with a 9.0-inch portrait-style touchscreen flanked by slim AC vents, wood inlays on the dashboard, and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster.
As far as equipment is concerned, the C40 Recharge gets an Android-based infotainment system with direct access to Google Maps and Assistant, and several apps from the Play Store with the help of an onboard e-SIM. It also gets a panoramic sunroof, wireless phone charging, a 360-degree camera, a full suite of sensor-based ADAS tech with autonomous driving, connected car tech, powered front seats with driver-side memory function, heating and cooling, a dual-zone climate control system, and a premium Harman Kardon sound system. The climate control functions, however, are tucked away in the infotainment screen.
The C40’s Recharge’s boot space, however, has gone down to 413 litres from the SUV’s 452 litres, although the 31-litre frunk space remains unchanged. The rear seat headroom will also have gone down due to the sloping roofline. Notably, Volvo claims that the C40’s interior is completely leather-free, in line with the brand’s aim to eliminate leather from all its electric cars by 2025 to reduce animal harm and carbon emissions.
The underpinnings and powertrain configuration also remain unchanged from the XC40 Recharge. Based on the CMA platform (Compact Modular Architecture), the C40 Recharge in India gets a dual-motor set-up – one on each axle – with a 78kWh battery pack for a claimed range of 530km on a single charge on the WLTP cycle or 683km as per ICAT. Interestingly, the range has shot up massively over the SUV's claimed 418km range, thanks to a newer generation battery and better aerodynamics.
The two electric motors give it all-wheel-drive capability and, combined, produce 408hp and 660Nm of torque. Volvo claims it can sprint from 0-100kph in 4.7 seconds, which is 0.2 seconds faster than the XC40 Recharge. The C40 Recharge is capable of fast charging with a 150kW DC charger that can top up its batteries from 0 to 100 percent in 27 minutes.
Autocar
