First introduction: Volvo EX30 – How Chinese is the new Volvo EX30?

The famous, electric slap-in-your-face acceleration of the new Volvo EX30 Twin Motor Performance is over in a few seconds when Joakim Hermansson says hypocritically: “As you can see, it’s fast enough.” The Product Lead for the new EX30 sits behind the wheel of the new Volvo, while I can gain my first experience with the important new model in the passenger seat. “Customers find that performance in power and acceleration important for a premium product and it also ties in with our core value of safety. Compared to old cars with combustion engines, this electric car always has immediate torque, which makes overtaking less dangerous.” For a moment I think the Swede is joking, but from the look on his face, he means it.

What is premium?

When asked what exactly premium means in the case of the EX30, he is clear: “For us, premium means design, safety but also, for example, sustainability. That’s why the EX30 has the smallest carbon footprint of all Volvos ever made. We achieve this, among other things, by using recycled materials in the interior, but our new LFP battery also plays a role in this.” That LFP battery is not included in this specific Performance version, because it is equipped with the more common NMC technology. Compared to those types of batteries, the LFP battery has some advantages. For example, it is more stable and therefore less of a fire hazard, can go through more charging cycles before its capacity decreases and generally costs less because the materials used in the cathode are cheaper. In addition, the extraction of these materials is less harmful to the environment. The major disadvantage is the energy density per kilo. The EX30 with LFP basic battery therefore weighs almost as much as the Extended Range, which has a larger capacity with its NMC battery (64 kWh net versus 49 kWh) and therefore goes further.

We do not really find the premium experience in the interior.

“We are specifically targeting new buyers for our brand with the EX30,” Hermansson explains. The car is a lot smaller than the XC40 and in that respect it is more of a spiritual successor to the V40. The price is then an important purchasing argument. At the same time, we also know that new customers often still experience problems range anxiety, so the option for a version with more range definitely had to be there. However, we see in Norway, for example, that customers quickly discover that in practice they do not need that extra range at all. If you really think about how you use the car, we are convinced that the basic battery is sufficient for many people and the car accelerates from 0 to 100 in less than six seconds. This Performance can do it in about 3.5 seconds .”

Not 3.5 seconds

However, although the car feels above average smooth, it is not ‘3.5 seconds fast’. “The battery is not charged enough now,” Hermansson admits. “From around 80 percent performance decreases and at around 30 percent state of charge there is a further decrease, but this version will always be able to go from 0 to 100 in less than six seconds. Most people won’t drive it like we do now.”

Most people don’t have a test track in their backyard, but today we are guests at (part of) the Hällered Proving Grounds, where new Volvos have been prepared for the production stage for decades. Including by the Dutchman Egbert Bakker, who has been responsible for the chassis of new Volvos for decades and who is also taking us around the track today. “We do the same lap once at low speed and once at higher speed, so the chassis has to be able to work in different ways. Unlike the XC40, the EX30 has no FSD dampers and of course no air suspension. That is simply not possible in this price segment.” Instead, the EX30 sits on the Geely group’s relatively simple Sustainable Experience Architecture platform, which also supports the Smart #1 and Zeekr 001.

Own stamp

Yet, according to Bakker, Volvo has been able to put its own stamp on it. “We have been involved in the development from the start and we can clearly indicate what we need to make a car drive like a Volvo. We did the same at Ford at the time. An S40 also drove significantly differently than a Ford Focus, which was a completely different car. It is always important that a Volvo drives easily, comfortably and predictably. Like here on this stretch of road that we have recreated from an English road near Stansted. This asphalt is very uneven and has curves. At the same time, it is important that the car is comfortable and never loses contact with the road.”

When we drive a little later on a stretch of road with unrealistically deep subsidence, Bakker explains: “Here you can really feel what happens when the car compresses and retracts deeply. We would like the car to be whole wheel travel can use to stay comfortable, but the car should not float. He must stand immediately. That is also necessary if you do this, for example.” The entire car is thrown to the left and to the right when Bakker jerks the steering wheel. “It all has to be done safely and predictably,” he explains. Despite the high weight and the fact that I cannot feel what is happening to the chassis through the steering wheel, the EX30’s chassis feels remarkably comfortable and as controlled as the man who designed it.

Egbert Bakker knows how to drive a Volvo. He’s been doing it for 40 years.

Electric cars change a lot

When asked whether the rise of the electric car has many consequences for his work, Bakker answers in the affirmative. “Of course, more weight is never good for a chassis, although it can help with the comfort experience. And the fact that we no longer have a motor on the front wheels that we can use as a vibration damper also makes things different. However, that also makes it fun, because you have to come up with creative solutions for those kinds of problems.”

For Bakker, it will probably be the last time that he is responsible for these solutions, because the Dutchman will retire next year after about forty years at Volvo. And somehow that is also a beautiful moment. When he took office, Volvo was just making the switch from rear-wheel drive to front-wheel drive. Now the opposite is happening. “Then the circle is nicely rounded.”