Volvo promises its smallest ever SUV, the forthcoming all-electric Volvo EX30, will remain big on safety. As an established leader in safety, Volvo says it draws upon its 96 years of history in the field in order to produce a practical and stylish car which also looks after its driver and passengers, as well as others in busy urban environments.
An example of the high level of safety technology onboard in the forthcoming Volvo EX30 is its integrated door opening alert, which can warn occupants through visual and audio cues whenever they're about to open the door in front of a passing cyclist or other traffic user. The door opening alert is one of several features of Volvo's Safe Space Technology on the fully electric Volvo EX30 that, says the Swedish carmaker, showcases its high safety standards in even the smallest SUV.
As a result, the Volvo EX30 has been designed to be city-safe with technology specifically aimed at protecting people in busy urban environments.
Volvo says the EX30 is a distillation of all the great things about the vehicles the manufacturer produces. The new model is a small, fully electric SUV for the modern era, designed to be safe and have a smaller CO2 footprint than any Volvo car ever before.
By tackling emissions across the entire production and lifecycle of the Volvo EX30, the company says it has managed to reduce its total carbon footprint over 200,000kms of driving to below 30-tonnes. This is a 25% reduction compared to the fully electric C40 and XC40 models and a positive step towards Volvo's aim to cut its overall CO2 emissions per car by 40% between 2018 and 2025.
Volvo says it has managed to cut the CO2 footprint of the Volvo EX30 to 75% of its current electric models through a number of factors.
First of all, designing a smaller car quite simply means less material is needed to produce it, given that aluminium and steel are two of the biggest contributors to production-related CO2 emissions. Volvo has used less steel and aluminium when building its new small SUV, and more of it is also recycled materials.
Around a quarter of all aluminium used in building the car is recycled, as is approximately 17% of all steel used in producing a Volvo EX30, further reducing the environmental impact from those materials.
This adds up to a car that has a so-called 'cradle-to-gate' CO2 impact of an estimated 18-tonnes. Cradle-to-gate describes the CO2 impact from the extraction of raw materials to the
finished car arriving at the dealer, so before it’s driven. In short, Volvo says the EX30 gives the consumer more scope to downsize and reduce personal CO2 impacts, without having
to compromise on safety, driving comfort or convenience.
Volvo says the new EX30 electric SUV also aims to make life more convenient, more relaxing and more enjoyable through cutting-edge tech and considerate Scandinavian design.
The forthcoming SUV has a stylish interior that embraces sustainable thinking, while carefully crafted compilations of materials enhance the distinct graphic design of the interior. With
recycled and renewable materials such as denim, flax and wool, as well as a variety of expressive colours and textures, our interior has responsible design at its core.
And when interacting with the EX30, it offers a contextual user experience, smartly removing complexity for more focused and enjoyable driving on a single screen. On top of
that, features such as a soundbar covering the entire width of the dashboard – the first of its kind in a car – and an array of smart storage ideas combine to deliver a big-car experience within a smaller footprint.
Volvo New Zealand says it expects to see the EX30 in early 2024 with pricing to be revealed in the next few months.
