Volvo Concept Recharge Accentuates Coming EV Shift
Volvo is deadly serious about their transformation to an all-electrified brand by 2030, and it is driven home clearly and sleekly in the new Volvo Concept Recharge design study. Widely suspected to hold visual and mechanical clues to the next XC90 crossover utility, the Concept Recharge is both striking on the outside and incredibily inviting on the inside. Clearly a fresh styling direction was in order for such a monumental powertrain shift. Expectedly, there is no traditional grille as such, yet elements familiar to the faithful remain like a central Volvo crest, and modernized LED "Thor's Hammer" headlights that now open up when they switch from running to headlights. At the rear, Volvo signature tail lights also remain, while just about everything else in between is decidedly new. Volvos have always been known for their excellent use of space and the flat floor made possible in an EV is fully embraced in the Concept Recharge. There is lots of head and legroom, yet seating is low enough to reduce the overall height of the vehicle compared to their current designs. Naturally a huge screen dominates the dash, something we've already gotten use to in Volvos. In this concept it measures 15 inches. The second row includes a new take on another familiar Volvo feature, the ability to raise and lower cushions so they can function as child booster seats.