12 Sep 07
Volvo's green concept car in Frankfurt is a petrol-electric hybrid C30 which can be plugged in to recharge its batteries.
The ReCharge has an electric motor at each wheel, designed to be powered by the lithium-polymer battery pack in the boot. The car can run for more than 60 miles using the battery alone, but when 70% of its charge has been used the battery gets a boost from the C30's 1.6-litre Flexifuel engine, which fires up automatically. Volvo claims that if the car is only ever powered by battery its running costs will be about 80% lower than a comparable conventional car's. If one-third of a journey involves use of the internal combustion engine, the fuel economy should be about 125mpg. The Flexifuel engine can run on unleaded or E85 biofuel, which is 85% ethanol and 15% petrol.
'This is a groundbreaking innovation for sustainable transportation. This plug-in hybrid car, when used as intended, should have about 66% lower emissions of carbon dioxide compared with the best hybrid cars available on the market today,' said Magnus Jonsson, Volvo's research and development chief. 'Emissions may be even lower if most of the electricity comes from CO2-friendly sources such as biogas, hydro power and nuclear power. A person driving less than 60 miles per day will rarely need to visit a filling station.'
Project manager Ichiro Sugioka added: 'There is a considerable difference between the Volvo plug-in hybrid and today's hybrids. Today's hybrids use the battery only for short periods to assist the combustion engine. Volvo's solution is designed for most people to run on electric power all the time, while providing the extra security that comes with having a combustion engine as a secondary source of electrical power.'
A full recharge takes three hours, but a one-hour recharge will be enough to power the car for 30 miles. The main electrical components were developed by Volvo and British specialists PML Flightlink.
Check out the rest of our Frankfurt Motor Show coverage
