Electrification is the way forward for Volvo Cars, and the Swedish manufacturer has set out to have a product line-up comprised entirely of battery-electric vehicles by 2030 ahead of becoming a climate-neutral firm by 2040, while locally, Volvo Car Malaysia aims to have EVs form 75% of its total sales in the country by 2025.
With a selection of battery-electric vehicles already on sale, the prospective customer looking at purchasing a Volvo BEV will be looking to find out what sets one model apart from the other. In the case of Volvo BEV models currently on sale in Malaysia, two such models are the C40 Recharge Pure Electric and the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric.
Shared between the C40 Recharge Pure Electric and the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric is the platform and powertrain, which, in the case of these models, features a dual-motor configuration producing 408 PS. In the C40 Recharge Pure Electric, these come from a 159 PS motor on the front axle and a 249 PS motor driving the rear wheels and an extra 10 Nm of torque, while the 2023 XC40 Recharge Pure Electric gets a 204 PS motor on each axle.
The battery in the C40 Recharge Pure Electric is a 82 kWh (79 kWh usable) battery that can be recharged at up to 200 kW DC, enabling a 10-80% state of charge in 27 minutes. The unit in the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric is a 78 kWh battery, supporting DC charging at up to 150 kW for a 80% state of charge in 28 minutes.
Common to both models are their width and wheelbase lengths at 1,863 mm and 2,702 mm respectively, though certainly there are differences in other measures; the C40 Recharge Pure Electric is slightly longer by 6 mm at 4,431 mm and 70 mm lower with an overall height of 1,582 mm, which is visually apparent in its roofline that is more sloping in its coupé-like profile.
The C40 Recharge Pure Electric is purpose-built to be a fully electric vehicle from the outset, whereas the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric is a model that has been adapted from its internal combustion-engined origins. Thus, the C40 Recharge Pure Electric stands alone as its own model in being EV-only, with no ICE-powered derivative.
Which do you like the look of better? The sleeker, lower roofline of the C40 Recharge Pure Electric does appeal, though the more upright posture of the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric undoubtedly does, too.
The distribution of interior space may also play a role in how you choose between the two; the C40 Recharge Pure Electric sports greater front-row headroom, while the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric has more luggage capacity when the second-row seats are folded.
Though the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric can house more luggage, the C40 Recharge Pure Electric sports a panoramic sunroof for more natural light in its cabin. A sleek silhouette from the C40 Recharge Pure Electric, or the timeless confidence of the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric – which suits your style?
The larger battery and more efficient aerodynamics of the C40 Recharge Pure Electric contributes to its greater battery range at 550 km WLTP, compared to the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric that does 438 km on a single charge on the same testing protocol.
There is also some trade-off between the two model in terms of price, as the C40 Recharge Pure Electric is priced RM10k higher than the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric, which will be a large part of any prospective Volvo BEV customer’s consideration.
Choosing between these two Volvo BEVs for your purchase is something that can be determined with your own hands-on sampling of the models. Find out more from the Volvo Car Malaysia website, here, and you will get to book a test drive at a dealer with both the C40 Recharge Pure Electric and XC40 Recharge Pure Electric. There will be attractive perks, too, so be sure to click on the link, and try the Volvo BEVs firsthand.
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Has anyone noticed that Volvo is the first and so far the only company doing full electric CKD assembly in Malaysia? They introduced the first full EV XC40 and then C40 at starting prices of around RM260-280k. Later on when all the others e.g. Tesla, BYD, MG, Chery, etc came it, they undercut the selling price to RM140-180k and the reason is the government gave fully import duties exemption for EV. Volvo couldn’t or more like wouldn’t reduce their price due to customers already collecting the XC40 & C40. Lesson learnt:
1. Don’t be the pioneer to do CKD assembly of EV as the government will give more tax incentives to fully imported EV. I’m sure Volvo could’ve spent millions for assembly line investments but Tesla just opens shop and hire a few hundred Malaysians.
2. Don’t be first customers who buy into EV when later the prices could be reduced further. Also, you need to be the first to test the public charging infrastructure, home charger installation, range anxiety and other potential warranty issues.
Thank the early adopters. Like you said, they have a car that costs way more, has inferior tech, massive depreciation, etc. But they pave the way for public charging operators to want to build up their business.
So sad but true with your observations around Volvo setting up CKD EVs here, to be serious about FDI but getting spat in the face with all these Chinese OEMs dumping their inventories in Southeast Asia. I love Volvos and their philosophy but unfortunately at this price point they just won’t be able to sell well. There’s also the relatively new stigma you see in local people and even Reddit or car forums that Volvo is now Chinese, so with all that said it’s not a wonder Volvo is doing all sorts of public promo campaign to remind people they’re still an option in the sea of affordable priced EVs.
Volvo & other Germany EV may close shop soon with this kind of pricing
the right electric vehicle is one that is below 150k