The 2022 Volvo C40 Recharge may seem like just another coupe-like crossover from a European luxury brand, but it’s more than that. As the first Volvo designed from the ground up to be purely an electric vehicle, it’s a major step toward the automaker’s end goal of completely eliminating the internal combustion engine in its lineup by 2030.
Given its fast roofline and EV power plant, the C40 Recharge has obvious similarities to the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Tesla Model Y. However, it lacks the sportiness of the Mach-E and the 326-mile cruising capability of the Long Range Model Y. It’ll be interesting to see how one of the most significant Volvos ever made will fare against the Mercedes-EQ EQB when it comes to the U.S. market next year.
2022 Volvo C40 Recharge release date window
As of right now, there is only one trim level, the new Ultimate specification, which is also available on the more conventionally styled 2022 XC40 Recharge SUV. The C40 Recharge Ultimate will start at a price of $59,845, which includes the $1,095 destination charge. If you qualify for the maximum $7,500 federal tax credit, that price of entry goes down to $52,345, putting the C40 Recharge in the same ballpark as the $52,990 Tesla Model Y Long Range.
The C40 Recharge is also a key part of Volvo’s plan to offer its electric vehicles online only. It began taking pre-orders in March, but won’t be cranking out customer cars until this fall. Deliveries will start rolling out in the fourth quarter of 2021.
2022 Volvo C40 Recharge design and interior
While undeniably similar to the XC40 Recharge, the C40 manages to stand apart from its corporate sibling. Most of that is due to the C40’s contrasting fastback roof, but there are other differences as well. Volvo says the C40’s front end “a new face for electric Volvos.” Its pointy headlight casings feature the signature Thor’s Hammer design element and new pixel LEDs, which automatically adjust to lighting conditions and shut off or switch on to optimize the C40’s forward lighting. The distinctive LED tail lights have a stylized hammer shape of their own that terminates in a line of segmented light bars that flank the rear glass. True Volvo diehards will recognize the chunky 20-inch wheels as the spiritual successors to the rollers on the 2018 Volvo 360c concept car.
The designers behind the C40’s interior got a lot of their inspiration from nature and Volvo’s home country of Sweden. They manifested both in the panoramic glass roof, which lets light into the cabin the way the glass on many Swedish houses does. They paid homage to the mountains in the Abisko national park, with the layered backlit graphics on the C40’s dashboard and front door panels. Volvo’s interior designers saved their greatest reverence for cows and chose to make the C40’s cabin 100 percent leather-free. One interior option uses wool fibers; the other comprises of a suede-like textile made out of recycled plastic and what Volvo calls “micro-tech material.”
Volvo made up for the C40’s singular trim level by equipping it with a high level of features. The Android operating system handles most of the infotainment, including Google Assistant, Google Maps and Google Play, although music comes out of a Harman Kardon audio system. Both rows of passengers can enjoy the view of the night sky through the standard panoramic roof.
2022 Volvo C40 Recharge driver aids and safety features
Aside from a mention of a 360-degree camera system and Volvo’s Pilot Assist lane-keeping/adaptive cruise control tech, exact details on the C40’s driver aids and safety features are sparse on both Volvo’s consumer and media sites. Don’t be surprised if its similar to those offered on the XC40 Recharge. That’s available with pedestrian and cyclist detection, emergency automatic braking, cross-traffic alert, blind spot monitoring and more.
2022 Volvo C40 Recharge driver aids and safety features
The C40 puts its electric power to the road through all four wheels, thanks to the electric motors attached to the both axles and a 78-kWh battery pack. Charging that to 80 percent should only take 40 minutes. That’ll be even easier to do with the 250 kWh of charging on the Electrify America network Volvo is throwing in with every 2022 C40 Recharge. Once that juice is used up within the first three years, Volvo will cover the membership fees for joining Electrify America’s Pass+ program, which provides access to discounted charging rates.
As of this writing, Volvo only has a WLTP (the European Union’s Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure) range estimate of 200+ miles for the C40 Recharge. Once the EPA officially tests the C40 Recharge, don’t be shocked if that number changes. It’s worth noting that the agency evaluated the XC40 Recharge and determined it can return 208 miles on a full charge.
2022 Volvo C40 Recharge outlook
The C40 Recharge may be a big first for Volvo, but it won’t be a singularity for long. The automaker is aiming for 50 percent of its worldwide sales to be fully electric vehicles by 2025. If everything goes according to plan, 15 years later, Volvo will be completely carbon neutral.
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