Volvo's plug-in hybrid will charge up in five hours, offering 30 miles of electric driving. A secondary diesel engine gives the car a total range of more than 700 miles.
Starting in 2012, Volvo lovers will have a chance to get into a new kind of car. The Swedish automaker, which has long been admired for its obsession with safety, will be inviting people to plug in. That's right — Volvo is embracing plug-in hybrid technology in a big way. This next-generation technology will cut fuel consumption and emissions in half by pairing an efficient diesel engine with an electric motor. Drivers will be able to commute locally on electricity only, but the internal-combustion engine will ensure they don't get stranded with an empty battery. Full details of the new model are still pending; it will be released in Europe in 2012, with an American version "still in the pipeline."
Driving Volvo's Plug-In Hybrid
Recently we had an opportunity to get a preview of Volvo's new plug-in hybrid technology at a company test facility in Goteborg, Sweden. The car is still in research phase, and for test purposes was built into a V70 station wagon, which is not the vehicle Volvo has in mind for final production. Nevertheless, we found that Volvo has a unique take on this increasingly popular technology.
Even with three Swedes and me onboard, the modified V70 put on quite a show. It accelerated with that signature pep that comes only from the constant torque of an electric motor, and it behaved as one might expect; i.e., like an exceptionally safe, luxury European wagon.
As we pulled onto the test track, the car delivered an entrancing whirr, reminiscent of a radio-controlled racer. As we weaved our way around the road course, the car's ride was stable and pleasing, but not exactly exhilarating. If the extra weight of the lithium-ion battery biased the handling, we couldn't feel it.
On the inside, the modified V70 boasted nothing out of the ordinary. The only oddity was a manual control switch that toggles between electric and diesel modes (a feature to be automated in the final version of the technology).
Read: Electric Cars: Are We Ready or Not?
The Technology
Volvo's take on the plug-in hybrid means an internal-combustion engine on the car's front axle and an electric motor on the rear. A lithium-ion battery sits between the back wheel housings, a location Volvo considers safest. With a 5-hour charge from a normal home electrical outlet, you'll be able to drive 30 miles on the battery alone, with the diesel engine kicking in if needed as a power boost during acceleration.
As the charge diminishes, the diesel engine starts to carry more of the load and the two powerplants work in tandem, much like the Toyota Synergy Drive in the Prius. Once the battery is drained, the diesel engine will be able to carry the car as long as there's fuel in the tank, giving it a total range of more than 700 miles.
Volvo's approach to the plug-in differs from that of some competitors. The Chevy Volt, for instance, uses its gasoline engine as a battery charger only; it never drives the wheels directly.
With its efficient diesel engine, the emissions from Volvo's plug-in will average to about 49 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer (about half that of the most efficient cars on the road) and it will sip less than 2 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers. (Emission and fuel-efficiency numbers for the U.S. model are not available yet.)
In addition, a plug-in hybrid fueled by diesel is an unlikely candidate for sale on this side of the Atlantic. Even with the diesel market growing — and lots of curiosity about the combined efficiencies of diesel fuel and electric power — Volvo says its U.S. plug-in hybrid, if sold at all, will probably run on gasoline.
