Volvo’s first all-electric vehicle will arrive in the Canadian market at a price too high to qualify for federal or provincial electric vehicle rebates.
The Volvo XC40 Recharge will carry a starting MSRP at launch of $64,950, which is nearly $5,000 too expensive to qualify for Quebec’s $8,000 provincial rebate. The federal iZEV rebate and British Columbia provincial rebate also have qualifying thresholds below the starting price of the XC40 Recharge at $45,000 and $55,000 respectively, meaning the vehicle doesn’t qualify for either of those. Volvo didn't say how much delivery of the XC40 Recharge will cost.
David Mele, electrification product planning manager for Volvo Car Canada, did not rule out the possibility of a future entry-level model being released at a lower price to fall below the Quebec rebate threshold once more units are allocated to Canada.
“The incentive landscape changes more often than we’re able to adapt [to with] our pricing,” Mele said during a media roundtable on February 10. “The XC40 Recharge as we see it today is not how it's going to be set up for the entire life cycle of the vehicle. … [We] expect that we will see an expansion of the offering.”
The XC40 Recharge will be produced in Ghent, Belgium. Canada will have “a few hundred units” allocated at launch, according to Volvo Car Canada Managing Director Matt Girgis, who declined to offer more specific figures due to the volatility of global vehicle production under the ongoing chip shortage. While demand is strongest in markets where provincial incentives exist, Girgis said the company does not intend to send its entire inventory to those hot spots.
“We are using logic that's tied to customer demand,” Girgis said. “There is appetite for more [allocation], and we are trying to secure more as best we can.”
The Volvo XC40 Recharge produces 402 hp and 486 lb-ft of torque through a pair of electric motors, which work in tandem to generate full-time all-wheel drive. Rated at a range of 335 km, the 78 kWh battery recharges from zero to 80 per cent in 40 minutes at a 150 kW Level 3 fast charger. This is the first vehicle in the Volvo line-up to be equipped with Google’s Android infotainment system, which launched in the first all-electric product from Volvo’s premium brand, the Polestar 2, last year. Demonstration units are currently arriving at Canadian dealerships.
