The deceptively ordinary-looking Volvo C30 has become the face of the car manufacturer’s new Volvo ReCharge Concept – a plug-in hybrid with individual electric wheel motors and whose batteries can be recharged through a normal electrical outlet.
Making its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show early last month, the specially designed Volvo C30 lasts for around 100 kilometres on battery power alone before the car’s four-cylinder Flexifuel engine kicks in to both power the car and also recharge the battery.
“This is a ground-breaking innovation for sustainable transportation. A person driving less than 100 kilometres a day will rarely need to visit a filling station. In the US, this may apply to almost 80pc of drivers,” said Magnus Jonsson, senior vice-president for R&D at Volvo Cars.
Expected to go on sale by early 2012, the C30’s operating costs claim to be almost 80pc less than the average petrol car.
“This plug-in hybrid car, when used as intended, should have about 66pc lower emissions of carbon dioxide compared with the best hybrid cars available on the market today,” said Jonsson.
“Emissions may be even lower if most of the electricity in intended markets comes from CO2-friendly sources such as biogas, hydropower and nuclear power,” he added.
By Marie Boran, via Gadgetrepublic.com
Photo: The Volvo C30.
