| Ford Motor Company's Volvo Cars division is poised to | | | | equipped with a battery pack made of lithium-polymer |
| introduce a brand new concept model at the upcoming | | | | that features an impressive longevity. Each wheel of |
| 2007 International Motor Show (Internationale | | | | the C30 ReCharge Concept comes with electric |
| Automobil-Ausstellung, IAA) in Frankfurt. The Swedish | | | | motors that provide independent traction power to the |
| automaker will present the ReCharge Concept, a new | | | | vehicle. |
| plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). | | | | Finally, C30 ReCharge Concept comes with a 1.6-litre |
| The Volvo ReCharge Concept will be equipped with | | | | Flexifuel engine with an advanced generator, called |
| individual electric wheel motors and batteries that can | | | | Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) that provides power to the |
| be recharged through electrical outlets. The ReCharge | | | | vehicle when the battery ran out of energy. In addition, |
| Concept will be installed in a Volvo C30 and will make | | | | the driver can also choose which power source will be |
| its debut in front of the European crowd at IAA | | | | used to drive the Volvo C30 ReCharge Concept. The |
| Frankfurt. | | | | driver can switch between two power sources: the |
| "A certain proportion of electrical vehicles will be | | | | battery or the 1.6-litre Flexifuel engine via a button on |
| necessary to meet the CO2 emission demands of the | | | | the instrument panel. |
| future. Since the Volvo ReCharge Concept combines | | | | This offers an excellent fuel economy for the |
| an excellent battery range with a backup combustion | | | | customers. When fully charged, the ReCharge |
| engine, it is a very interesting concept." says Magnus | | | | Concept only consumes about 2.8 litres of fuel for 93 |
| Jonsson, Senior Vice President Research and | | | | miles of driving range. This shows an effective fuel |
| Development at Volvo Cars. | | | | economy of 1.9 l/100km or 124 mpg. |
| "This plug-in hybrid car, when used as intended, should | | | | Ichiro Sugioka, project manager for the Volvo |
| have about 66 percent lower emissions of carbon | | | | ReCharge Concept concluded: |
| dioxide compared with the best hybrid cars available | | | | "There is a considerable difference between our |
| on the market today. Emissions may be even lower if | | | | plug-in hybrid and today's hybrids. Today's hybrids use |
| most of the electricity in intended markets comes from | | | | the battery only for short periods to assist the |
| CO2-friendly sources such as biogas, hydropower and | | | | combustion engine. Our solution is designed for most |
| nuclear power. The only requirement is that the car | | | | people to run on electric power all the time, while |
| owner has access to electrical outlets at convenient | | | | providing the extra security that comes with having a |
| places, such as at home or at the workplace. A full | | | | combustion engine as a secondary source of electrical |
| recharge takes 3 hours. However, even a one-hour | | | | power. What is more, our C30 with plug-in hybrid |
| quick charge should provide enough charge to drive | | | | technology retains its lively and sporty driving |
| about 50 kilometres." he added. | | | | properties. Acceleration from 0-100 km/h takes 9 |
| Volvo engineers developed the ReCharge Concept at | | | | seconds and top speed is 160 km/h." |
| the Volvo Monitoring and Concept Center (VMCC) in | | | | Other affiliate automotive companies of Ford Motor |
| Camarillo, California. This latest powertrain from the | | | | Company like Mazda (maker of quality models with |
| Swedish automaker combines the several technical | | | | quality Mazda auto parts) should also develop |
| innovations found today. The ReCharge Concept is | | | | alternative powertrain systems like this. |