Volvo Car South Africa (Volvo SA) will soon add a second battery electric vehicle (EV) to its local EV portfolio – the XC40 P6 Recharge.
The local arm of the Swedish manufacturer currently offers the XC40 P8 Recharge to the South African market.
While the XC40 P8 Recharge employs twin electric motors (one on each axle), the P6 features a single unit – permanently sealed and maintenance free – at the front.
Supply of Volvo EVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) to South Africa has remained extremely tight.
The company sold out its preorder EV allocation for South Africa last year, which was 30 XC40 P8s, says Volvo SA MD Greg Maruszewski.
“Although our order book is much larger than this, we are expecting to sell just under 100 EV units this year.
“With the introduction of the XC60 T8, we are aiming to receive as close to 100 PHEVs as possible, which could triple our PHEV sales this year,” adds Maruszewski.
“The global demand for our PHEVs and EVs has resulted in supply constraints in all of our markets, including South Africa, which has made it challenging to accommodate local demand for our Recharge line,” he notes.
“However, we are anticipating an ease in supply next year on all of our powertrains – PHEV and EV included – and will be targeting at least 50% growth on total sales compared with this year.”
Maruszewski says steeply rising fuel prices are playing a role in the move to EVs in South Africa – but only to a degree.
“Owning an EV is still a fairly new concept to the South African consumer. However, the current push to electrification with all the benefits it offers is increasing interest in our PHEVs.”