2012 Volvo C30 Electric

Volvo C30 Electric - cool, comfortable motoring even in subzero climate

Born and raised in the cold Scandinavian winters, Volvo Car Corporation builds electric vehicles for all climates.

The C30 Electric features unique technology that promotes daily use in subzero temperatures without compromising driving properties or occupant comfort.

'Our basic view is that the owner of an electric vehicle shouldn't have to sacrifice any of the qualities he or she expects from a luxury car. Our aim is to create innovative solutions that make electric car ownership smooth and easy in all conditions,' says Lennart Stegland, Vice President Electric Propulsion Systems at Volvo Car Corporation.

Keeping the batteries in good condition and the passenger compartment comfortably warm in subzero climate requires a lot of energy.

Since the operating range becomes shorter if this energy is taken from the car's battery pack, Volvo Car Corporation decided to work out a more efficient and flexible solution.

In the C30 Electric, there is no need to waste power from the healthy, fully charged battery to keep the passenger compartment pleasantly warm.

Smart climate system
The Volvo C30 Electric is equipped with a sophisticated climate system with technical solutions cooperating in order to tackle three different challenges:

• Supplying the passengers with heating or cooling.

• Warming or cooling the battery pack when necessary.

• Cooling the electric motor and the power electronics.

The climate system can be activated both during charging and driving.

Preconditioning - and unique monitoring


The heating is used for maintaining the battery in good working condition - and for pre-heating the passenger compartment.

Volvo Car Corporation has installed a unique monitoring system to safeguard the lifespan of the battery pack. During charging, the battery pack is heated automatically when the temperature reaches - 15° C in the core of the battery.

If the car is parked without charging possibilities, the automatic battery heating begins at -19° C in order to keep the battery in efficient working condition.

The passenger compartment can be preheated with a Fuel Operated Heater if the charge cable is not plugged in.

'Pre-conditioning in -10° Celsius extends the operating range with ten kilometres compared to a 'cold' start where battery capacity must be used for rapid heating,' says Lennart Stegland.

Fuel heater available


After preconditioning, the journey starts in a pleasant indoor climate. The driver can choose in the car's menu system how to heat the passenger compartment during the journey:

With the Auto Heating mode 'on' a Fuel Operated Heater (5 kW) - powered by bio ethanol (petrol system on markets where ethanol is unavailable) from a 12-litre tank - is activated automatically to provide heating during the drive. The filler cap is located where the fuel filler cap is located in a conventional Volvo C30.
If the driver chooses Auto Heater mode 'off', the electric immersion heater and an electric 1kW PTC (Positive Temperature Coefficient) heater co-operate to maintain a comfortable cabin climate.

During shorter trips on a moderately cold days electricity from the battery can be used to power the climate system. This maintains the C30 Electric's zero emission capacity, but the operating range will be somewhat shorter.

No compromises


'Únlike most electric car models on the market, the C30 Electric driver doesn't have to sacrifice a generous operating range to creating a comfortable climate even in extreme winter temperatures,' adds Lennart Stegland. 'The climate unit is programmed to suit the trip. The fuel heater is used when battery capacity is needed for maximum mobility.'

Rapid heating if necessary

With the electric heater, immersion heater and fuel heater activated at the same time, the desired temperature is reached in a few minutes.

The heating sources cooperate in order to achieve optimum balance between comfort and operating range. The two electrical units are switched off automatically when they are no longer needed - leaving the main responsibility for the long-term heating to the fuel heater.

Rough winter testing

Volvo Car Corporation's requirements on the C30 Electric are just as stringent as on all other Volvo models and the battery-powered car is exposed to the same test regime.

When it comes to cold climate, the car has been exposed to very rough conditions in order to ensure that the sophisticated technology works smoothly in temperatures as low as -30°C.

'Our uncompromising attitude includes that the C30 Electric must perform as intended when driving, parking and charging in a variety of conditions, from normal to very cold or hot. The Arctic part of Sweden is the perfect place to do sub-zero temperature testing,' says Lennart Stegland.

Source - Volvo

Volvo Car Corporation to start demonstration programme of electric cars in Shanghai

Volvo Cars China and Shanghai International Automobile City Group - a local government supervision authority - has decided to undertake a fleet demonstration programme with a test fleet of two Volvo C30 Electric cars in the community of Jiading outside Shanghai.

'We are very proud to bring the first Volvo C30 Electric cars to China and contribute to the electrification of the country', says Freeman Shen, chairman of Volvo Cars China.



In January 2011, Shanghai was selected as an international electric vehicle pilot city by the Chinese government and the Jiading district of Shanghai was announced as an electric vehicle demonstration zone. An infrastructure with over 13,000 charging stations and 15 battery swapping stations is being built, in order to support the real life use of electric vehicles.

Electrification of cars is a clear strategy for the Chinese Government in order to reduce the country's dependency on oil and longer term also to reduce CO2 emissions from transports.



In June 2011, Volvo Car Corporation started the production of the Volvo C30 Electric as a part of the company's highly ambitious electrification strategy for the forthcoming years. The Volvo C30 Electric is manufactured in the Volvo Cars Ghent plant in Belgium and finalised in the Torslanda plant in Sweden.

The cars are leased to customers in selected European countries and they are also currently operating in demonstration programmes in Sweden and Belgium. In China, it is the intention to introduce additional Volvo C30 Electric cars into demonstration programmes, including the one in Jiading.

The Volvo C30 Electric has a 20 kWh battery that is recharged from a regular household power socket. A full recharge takes about 7 hours. The operating range is up to 150 kilometres per full charge. The top speed is 130 km/h and acceleration from 0-50 km/h takes four seconds.

Source - Volvo