Volvo SUVs have achieved dual success in the What Car? Electric Car Awards 2021, announced today.
The XC40 Recharge Plug-in Hybrid T4 has added the title of Best Hybrid Small SUV to its impressive honours list, while the seven-seat XC90 Recharge Plug-in Hybrid T8 has earned the status of Best Used Hybrid Luxury SUV.
The awards reaffirm the quality of Volvo’s plug-in hybrid technology in providing lower emissions, impressive fuel economy and generous all-electric driving capability. These virtues are achieved without diminishing the essential qualities that have made Volvo SUVs such a sales success: striking Scandinavian styling, state-of-the-art technologies for connectivity and safety, and premium quality combined with day-to-day practicality and ease of use.
Profiling the XC40, What Car? declares the Recharge T4 to be the “pick of the range” and praises the efficiency of its plug-in hybrid technology, reporting that “you can do short journeys without using a drop of petrol yet still get decent fuel economy on longer trips”. There’s praise, too, for the “sumptuous interior” and the fact there is no loss of boot space in order to accommodate the petrol-electric powertrain.
Commending the XC90 Recharge Plug-in Hybrid T8 as a used car choice that “makes good financial sense all round”, What Car? highlights its ability to do 25 miles or more solely on electric power “leading to some impressively low fuel bills” and its status as the only seven-seat model in the plug-in hybrid luxury SUV market.
The XC40 Recharge Plug-in Hybrid T4 has an all-electric driving range of up to 28 miles (WLTP data), while the XC90 Recharge Plug-in Hybrid T8 can cover up to 30 miles on electric power alone.
Kristian Elvefors, Volvo Car UK Managing Director, said: “These awards reinforce how the electrification of our range does not require customers to make compromises. Our Recharge plug-in hybrid models have all the space, comfort and quality that customers value and expect, while delivering additional benefits in terms of lower day-to-day running costs and superior environmental efficiency. These benefits will be further enhanced by our new generation of pure electric cars, led by the introduction of the C40 and XC40 Recharge models.”
Volvo has one of the most ambitious electrification plans in the automotive industry. Not only was it the first manufacturer to offer a plug-in hybrid version of every car it sells, by 2025 it aims for 50 per cent of its global sales to consist of fully electric cars, with the rest hybrids. By 2030, Volvo plans for every car it sells to be fully electric.