CUPRA reiterated last week that its second 100% electric model, the CUPRA Tavascan, will be manufactured in China, something increasingly common among European and American manufacturers. Now it is Volvo that confirms that it will shape a key product in its range of electric cars in China, the Volvo EX30, a model destined to be the most affordable in its range.
During the presentation of the Volvo EX90, Volvo’s absolute flagship for the coming years, the brand revealed the first image of the EX30. While it is true that the brand did not comment on the model at the event, its CEO later did so to Automotive News Europe.
Without going into too much detail, Jim Rowan, CEO of Volvo Cars, referred to the model as the EX30, stating that it is a “really important car” for the brand as it will allow them to “reach a different price demographic.” .
That is to say, it will be positioned in the lower part of the Volvo range to be located in the compact segment, a market niche that the brand abandoned with the cessation of production of the last compact, the Volvo V40. It will be based on Chinese group Geely’s SEA platform and is expected to share key technical elements with Smart #1, which sits on the same basis.
The Smart model starts in Spain at 40,980 euros, a price that, based on the comment of the head of Volvo, should be lower than the EX30 when it hits the market. Currently, the most affordable electric car sold by Volvo is the XC40 Recharge, and it starts in Spain at 44,000 euros. Since this is a C-SUV, and the EX30 is expected as a B-SUV,
China and the manufacture of electric cars
China is gaining ground in an unstoppable way in the automotive landscape. To the projection that Chinese manufacturers are building outside their borders, such as BYD or SAIC, we must add that many foreign manufacturers are deciding to take the production of key electric cars on their journey to Chinese soil.
The reasons why they do so are clear. To a much more affordable workforce and a labor force that is equally qualified and voluminous, we must add the cost of materials, in addition to the cost of the cells that make up the batteries. Let’s remember that China is currently the largest battery producer in the world, something that seems to not stop in the medium term with the flight of European manufacturers to China.
All of the above gives rise to the manufacturers that take the production of key models to China, and celebrate having done so. Without going any further, last week Tesla announced that during November the firm managed to shape more than 100,000 electric cars at its Shanghai I factory, which is a record for the brand itself, but also shows that its growth can lead to turning the factory into the largest car factory in the world, electric or not.
