Volvo has unveiled the Concept Recharge, which previews the future of the Swedish automaker's design language and shows how the company will increasingly integrate advanced technology into its cars. The concept takes the form of a two-row SUV using electric propulsion, and it demonstrates how Volvo thinks electric-vehicle platforms will revolutionize transportation design.
- The Volvo Concept Recharge is a demonstration of the design changes that dedicated electric platforms will bring, such as more flexible proportions and more interior space.
- The concept debuts Volvo’s new design language, which places an emphasis on technology through features like the prominent LiDAR sensor on the roof.
- The design of the Concept Recharge will likely be similar to that of the electric XC90 successor due to arrive next year.
Volvo’s existing EVs, such as the XC40 Recharge, is still based around an architecture designed for internal combustion engines, meaning the vehicles are largely beholden to the packaging requirements of gas cars. The next generation of Volvo EVs will instead be based on a dedicated EV platform.
Like most dedicated EVs, the battery pack will live under the floor of the car. Volvo’s desire to have a large battery pack to boost range meant extending the concept’s wheelbase. This in turn means more interior space and shorter front and rear overhangs, with the wheels, pushed to the edges of the vehicle. With no engine under the hood, Volvo was able to slide the A-pillars forward and lower the hood, which is said to improve aerodynamics and thus range. Because EVs also don’t require chunky transmission housing in between the front seats, the flat floor also opens up room for extra storage space.
The Concept Recharge also debuts what Volvo says is a new design language. Although the concept is still recognizable as a Volvo, its styling is more streamlined and simple compared with the company’s current offerings. Some EVs have tried to mimic the grilles required on ICE cars, such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E, but the Concept Recharge ditches the traditional face for a flat “shield-like” design broken up by the classic Volvo look featuring the logo bisected by a diagonal line. There is also an updated version of the Thor’s Hammer headlights, featuring a graphic that unfurls at night to display the main headlight units.
At the rear, thin vertical taillights continue a design theme from Volvo’s station wagons and SUVs but gain small fins which extend at high speeds to help aerodynamics. The interior of the concept is open and airy and includes a 15.0-inch touchscreen which will form the basis of Volvo’s next-generation infotainment system. The roof of the concept also proudly displays the car’s LiDAR sensor, the product of a partnership with tech company Luminar which is a key part of Volvo’s upcoming autonomous driving features.
Volvo also used the conference to announce a new flagship electric SUV that will arrive next year, which will likely be a successor to the current XC90. Although there are no explicit plans to produce the Concept Recharge, this upcoming EV SUV will likely heavily draw design influence from this future-looking concept.
-by Amaan Attar
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