The Volvo XC40 Recharge peaked in electric car sales in September, accounting for one in three XC40 SUVs sold by the Swedish-Chinese automaker and 21% of all sales for the month.
The XC40 Recharge, recently launched by Volvo in Australia, is joined by a plug-in hybrid and a mild hybrid variant.
Volvo tells The Driven that of the 360 XC40s sold last month, 131 were of the all-electric version, which starts at $ 76,990 before on the road, and offers up to 425 km of range (WLTP) from its 72.5 kWh battery. , maximum power of 300 kW and maximum torque of 660 Nm.
The astonishing results mean that the Volvo XC40 Recharge claims the top spot in monthly electric (non-Tesla) car sales in Australia and only narrowly misses the launch month sales record set by the MG ZS EV (169) and the Porsche Taycan (161).
Despite this near failure, the popularity of the XC40 Recharge had already been reported by the Australian branch of the company in September when it indicated that its first allocation of “hundreds” was already exhausted. And Volvo Australia tells The Driven that more will be arriving before the end of the year.
The all-electric XC40 Recharge’s stellar launch to the Australian automotive market precedes its soon-to-be-introduced cousin, the Polestar 2, and is competitively priced starting at $ 59,990 (although “premium” add-ons may do so. wear well above that starting price).
A total of 466 electric vehicles were reported in the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) auto sales figures in September – the highest number so far in a month excluding Tesla, which does not report local sales figures to the industry body.
Word is that Tesla’s most recent deliveries are from existing inventory after the California-based electric vehicle maker imported an “army” of Model 3s from its Shanghai plant in June.
Besides the Tesla Model 3, whose sales far exceed those of all other electric models in Australia as well as overseas, the MG ZS EV has continued to occupy the second place in the electric vehicle sales rankings since the start of the year, followed by the Porsche Taycan, the Hyundai Kona Electric and the Nissan Leaf.
Over the next few months, the XC40 Recharge will be joined not only by the Polestar 2, but also by the Hyundai Ioniq 5, which will be available from $ 71,900 before on-highway costs.
Bridie Schmidt is the senior reporter for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018 and has a keen interest in the role zero-emission transportation needs to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is a co-organizer of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model 3 and offers it for rent at evee.com.au.
