The Volvo XC70 is BACK - and now it's a PHEV SUV with 112 miles of EV range
The new Volvo XC70 plug-in hybrid has been outed ahead of its official debut, courtesy of new images published by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
Earlier preview images gave a good idea of the reborn XC70's design, confirming that it would morph from high-riding estate into full-blown SUV, but these new images show just how closely it will be related to the larger XC90.
It measures 4815mm long and 1890mm wide, making it roughly the same size as the Volkswagen Tayron, Hyundai Santa Fe and Peugeot 5008, but unlike those cars – and its larger sibling – it is being offered from launch with five seats.
The MIIT filing also reveals some of the XC70's technical specifications for the first time, confirming that it will be offered exclusively as a plug-in hybrid, with either a 21.2kWh battery giving 62 miles of range, or a 39.6kWh pack which bumps that up to 112 miles - both according to China's generous CLTC cycle.
That larger pack, for reference, is about the same size as that fitted to the pure-electric Abarth 500e, and larger than the battery in the Mazda MX-30 EV.
The XC70 will be available with front- or four-wheel drive, in both instances with a 160bhp 1.5-litre petrol engine working in collaboration with an EV motor of undisclosed capacity.
Further details will be given closer to the XC70's China-market launch in September, where Volvo could announce plans to sell the new PHEV globally in response to sustained strong demand in certain markets for hybrid cars.
Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson believes extended-range plug-in hybrids could play an important role in Europe's electrification transition, particularly, strengthening the possibility of the new XC70 being sold here.
Speaking at the Financial Times Future of the Car conference earlier this month, he said: "In certain regions in Europe, the charging network will be developed later. If you look into the south and east of Europe, it will be slower.
"The ones leading are Norway all the way in the west. There, there will be faster transition to electrification. But in other regions, it's really a good solution to have a long-range hybrid, because if you look into the environmental aspect, if you have a long-range hybrid, the absolute majority of the transport work will be done with electricity. And so in that way, it will be an 'electric car'.
"If you have a very short range, a large part of the transport work will be done with the petrol. And then, of course, it's not fossil-free anymore. So a long-range plug-in hybrid, I would argue, is an electric car with a back-up engine when the battery is flat, which will happen not so often.
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