Attached to the disappointing news that Volvo won’t be offering the diesel-powered V60 PHEV globally is confirmation that the XC90 PHEV will be offered worldwide.
In an interview with Drive.com.au back in November, Volvo Cars senior vice president of product planning, Lex Kerssemakers, confirmed a new plug-in hybrid electric powertrain would be Volvo’s ‘eco-leader of choice’. It will debut in the production version of the XC90 SUV when the model redesign is introduced in late 2014.
At the moment we launch the XC90, we will also launch the petrol plug-in version
– Lex Kerssemakers
The XC90 will feature a 4 cylinder engine with more than 300 horsepower, and an electric motor which will bring total vehicle torque to over 600Nm (442 lb-ft)! Volvo is aiming for a balance between fuel efficiency and power, where as the V60 PHEV was mostly aimed at efficiency records, and had a claimed usage of 1.9l of diesel per 100km.
Kerssemakers went on to say the XC90 plug-in hybrid “should be class leading” and declined to comment on what fuel figure the XC90 could potentially garner.
Volvo decided to use a gasoline-based electric hybrid rather than a diesel-electric hybrid because “petrol is simply the most global fuel.”
Source: Drive.com.au
