Volvo Continues Its EV Commitment With New Research Lab in China

Volvo has a burgeoning gasoline-electric hybrid and battery-electric vehicle lineup that includes the likes of its Recharge line of plug-in hybrids and the XC40 Recharge EV. The latter is just the tip of the spear, as the company plans to expand its EV offerings significantly. Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson told us at the XC40 Recharge drive event that the brand plans to launch five EV models over the next five years. Volvo’s targeting production solely of EVs and hybrids by 2025—at an even split, no less. So it’s not totally surprising to us that the brand recently opened a new e-motor research lab in China to help support its massive electrification push.

This lab’s located in Shanghai, and augments the research the company is already doing in Gothenburg. It also complements battery research occurring both in China and Sweden, per Volvo. The purpose is to develop new e-motors for use in the upcoming SPA2 vehicle architecture, which we understand will underpin the next-generation versions of the XC90, XC60, S90/V90, and S60/V60. The Polestar 3—a forthcoming model from Volvo’s sister brand that specializes in hybrid and electric performance luxury cars—will also use the SPA2 architecture.

The push, Volvo notes, will benefit the company’s environmental footprint in several ways. For one, the company hopes to become climate-neutral by 2040, so reducing carbon emissions from both its manufacturing and products is an important component of that. The brand’s also hoping for upstream improvements in its supply chain, and downstream in component recycling. In the meantime, with increased electrification of its lineup, Volvo is hoping for a 40 percent reduction in the lifecycle carbon footprints of each of its vehicles by 2025.

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