Volvo developing EV range extenders

Volvo Car Corporation has announced it is taking the next step in the company's electrification strategy by producing test cars with range extenders - electric cars that are fitted with a combustion engine to increase their effective range. The projects, supported by the Swedish Energy Agency and the EU, encompass three potential technology combinations. Tests of the various concepts will get under way in the first quarter of 2012.
April 19, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSS609 Volvo Car Corporation has announced it is taking the next step in the company's electrification strategy by producing test cars with range extenders - electric cars that are fitted with a combustion engine to increase their effective range. The projects, supported by the Swedish Energy Agency and the EU, encompass three potential technology combinations. Tests of the various concepts will get under way in the first quarter of 2012.

"This is an exciting expansion of our increasing focus on electrification. Battery cost and size mean that all-electric cars still have a relatively limited operating range. With the range extender, the electric car has its effective range increased by a thousand kilometres - yet with carbon dioxide emissions below or way below 50 g/km," says Derek Crabb, VP powertrain engineering at Volvo.
The company's technological developments in this area currently encompass three different technology combinations, with three-cylinder petrol engines being installed to complement electric drive to the front wheels. All the variants feature brake energy regeneration. The engines can run on both petrol and ethanol (E85).

Two of the solutions are based on the Volvo C30 Electric. In both cases, the standard battery pack has been somewhat reduced in size to make room for the combustion engine and its fuel tank.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Europe’s heavy trucks ‘no more fuel-efficient than ten years ago’
    December 4, 2015
    A study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) claims that trucks in the European Union are no more fuel-efficient than they were a decade ago. The study, which analyses data from the European commercial trucking market, looking at key member states, manufacturers and fuel consumption trend, found that heavy-duty vehicles represent only four per cent of the on-road fleet in the European Union, but are responsible for 30 per cent of on-road CO2 emissions. In contrast, the study cla
    Read More
  • Bosch honoured with Global NCAP award for ESP
    June 14, 2012
    Bosch has received the Global NCAP Award 2012 for developing and launching the electronic stability programme (ESP). The award, which is conferred by the Global New Car Assessment Programme, was presented during the consumer safety organisation's annual meeting in Malacca, Malaysia. Global NCAP’s rationale for this award was ESP’s high level of effectiveness and its ability to significantly reduce the number of road accidents and fatalities – thereby supporting the aims of the UN Decade of Action for Road S
    Read More
  • NZ Bus transitioning to electric powered vehicles
    April 22, 2016
    New Zealand-based infrastructure investment company has announced a US$30m deal with US electric vehicle powertrain manufacturer Wrightspeed to supply its Route 500, which it intends to deploy on its public transport business through NZ Bus. Wrightspeed's Route 500 range-extended powertrain is capable of powering vehicles weighing up to 36,000 pounds, in grades as steep as 40 per cent, and maintains an efficient drive, with an estimated 11.1 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent. The 80kW, fuel agnostic fulc
    Read More
  • Bright shiny green future: Asecap Sustainability Forum
    August 30, 2023
    Knowing your company’s carbon footprint is one thing, but the real issue is understanding and reporting to investors Scope 3 emissions. David Arminas reports from the 2nd Asecap Sustainability Forum in Vienna, Austria
    Read More

Highlighted Content