Volvo Plug-in Hybrid Cars Coming This Summer

By: Andy Hodges
Staff Writer
Published: Jun 8, 2009

Volvo Hybrid Plug-in Cars Will Feature Two Battery Charge Ports

Volvo Car Corporation is sending a demonstration fleet of the new plug-in hybrid cars this summer, which feature two charging ports. There is one charge port under the fuel cap at the rear of the car to be used for public charging stations and one at the front for home charging. The cars use Lithium-Ion batteries and take up to 2 hours to charge.

"We want to reinforce electricity's importance in society and its key role in solving climate issues. Through this cooperation, we hope to be able to speed up the introduction of electric cars. Together we are developing the next-generation technology based on plug-in cars and various charging alternatives," Vattenfall president and CEO Lars G Josefsson said in a statement.

Vattenfall and Volvo launched a joint project in January 2007 to test and develop the new plug-in hybrid cars. The partnership will lead to a series of new production of plug-in hybrid vehicles, which will generate new jobs. The demonstration fleet will be used to gather information about consumer demands on performance, driving experience and fuel options.

These Volve hybrid cars are port ready to be charged at home. The vehicles can be charged from a regular household wall socket. The automaker believes that electricity is a well-suited power source for cars.

Several automakers are coming out with similar plug-in hybrid technologies and the market is moving fast. Volvo uses a high efficiency electric motor which consumes one-fifth the energy needed to power a gasoline engine. The automaker plans to bring the new hybrid cars to market in 2012.

What's not clear from Volvo is the purchase price for the new hybrids. They did say that the purchase price will be a bit higher than conventional automobiles. The batteries that drive these hybrid cars are still expensive, but its electric fuel costs will be cut to be roughly one-third in comparison to diesel power.

The Volvo V70 will be the demonstration model used this summer. I am actually looking forward to the demonstration, and we'll provide videos and other content about the plug-in hybrid cars later this summer.