Electric power nearly doubles with new PHEVs from the Swedish carmaker.

Safety. Comfort. Sustainability. And some very tidy Swedish design. These are the core principles of Volvo, but the company is going to sneakily add a lot more performance, to its hybrid vehicles.

A technical upgrade has been introduced for the XC60 and XC90 plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). Engineers at Volvo have managed to increase the battery pack capacity, allowing for a more potent hybridization system.

The XC60 and XC90 PHEV vehicles now use an 18.8kWh lithium-ion battery pack, with a 63% increase in energy density over the 2021 model year’s 11.6kWh of power storage.

For those Volvo owners who want to stretch their electric-only driving range, the better battery boosts range from 48- to 68km for the XC90 PHEV T8 and from 52- to 76km in the smaller XC60 PHEV.

The more notable gains are powertrain performance. Both the upgraded XC60 and XC90 PHEVs benefit from a more potent electric motor, rated at 107kW. That increases total system output to 335kW and 709Nm – impressive numbers by any standard.

With Volvo’s powertrain integration team nearly doubling the XC60 and XC90 PHEV electric motor power (from 65- to 107kW), the traditional sprint statistics are impressive.

Volvo claims the updated XC90 PHEV T8, which is not a light vehicle by any margin, will run the benchmark 0-100kph sprint in only 5.4 seconds.

Even more impressive is the new XC60 PHEV. It might not be marketed as a performance SUV, but with a 0-100kph time of 4.9 seconds, it is one of the quickest vehicles Volvo has ever produced.

Volvo’s hybridization might be for environmental reasons, to make its vehicles lighter on fuel, but the net result has been a genuine increase in power and performance. Ironic? Maybe. But definitely worthwhile.

The more powerful Volvo hybrid drive systems are scheduled for customer introduction in early 2022. Given the rumour of SA’s government changing its tariff and import structure for hybrid and electrified vehicles, we might see these sexy Swedes in SA sooner than you think.

Further Reading

Volvo Strategy for electrification

Volvo XC40 Pure Price in South Africa