Volvo offers a vision for electric SUVs with Concept Recharge

Volvo has looked to the past to lay the foundations for its next generation of fully electric cars. The company’s recently launched Concept Recharge is based on the XC90, but unlike the combustion version, it uses a new electric-only platform. Up until now, all of Volvo’s EVs used the same platform as its combustion vehicles.

The removal of the internal combustion engine and change of platform has allowed Volvo’s designers to develop the car’s proportions and improve aerodynamic efficiency. The wheelbase has been extended, the overhangs are shorter, and the bonnet has been lowered. Along with the elongated roofline, this all gives the Concept Recharge a rather dramatic silhouette.

On the inside, the flat floor offers more space and a better seating position for passengers. A slim 15-inch touchscreen is mounted to the minimalist IP – a nod to the company’s next generation infotainment system that will reportedly be coming soon. The floating centre console and curvaceous bucket seats are sizable and bold, almost like features in a room.

“Inside the Concept Recharge, we create a truly Scandinavian living room feeling,” says Robin Page, head of design at Volvo. “The interior integrates our latest user experience technology with beautiful, sustainable and natural materials. Each part of the interior is like a piece of art and could stand alone as individual furniture in a room. We use the latest technologies but not for their own sake. We always focus on the benefits that technologies can bring.”

“With the Concept Recharge we continue the rich roots of Volvo’s design DNA in a modern and fresh way as we move into our all-electric future. It represents everything we believe customers expect from a pure electric Volvo and we’re excited to take this philosophy into our next generation of cars.”

Continuing a trend that has been seen on EVs across the industry, Volvo’s designers have used the absence of the traditional grille to create a distinctive face. A shield-like structure includes a new interpretation of Volvo Cars’ Thor’s Hammer headlight design, with HD technology-enabled graphic which opens at night to reveal the main lamp units. The brand’s signature vertical rear lamps have been reimagined with a set of wings that extend at higher cruising speeds for the purpose of improving aerodynamics.

Volvo has also laid out its future safety aspirations with a LiDAR sensor, built by technology company Luminar. This is a central part of Volvo Cars’ plan for forthcoming safe autonomous drive technology and is inserted in the roof to collect data on the environment surrounding the car.

Using the benefits of electrification to develop interior and exterior design details was also a key theme for the Volvo C40 Recharge. Page and his team recently took us inside the design studio in Gothenburg, Sweden, for an in-depth look at the company’s latest production model.