GOTHENBURG: The Volvo Concept Recharge is a manifesto for the next generation of all-electric Volvos.
The concept car follows the principle of “less but better”.
For example, by removing the complexity of the internal combustion engine, the designers have been able to evolve the car’s proportions to increase interior space while also improving aerodynamic efficiency. The result is a car that offers genuinely better solutions to support a sustainable family life.
Volvo’s first generation of electric cars shares a floor with combustion engine-powered cars, which requires a balance in proportions and space to be able to accommodate both a battery pack and an internal combustion engine.
The next generation of Volvo’s fully electric cars – the first of which is the company’s first SUV on a completely new electric-only technology base – will feature flat floors, as previewed in the Concept Recharge.
By removing the engine and replacing it with a full battery pack under the flat floor, the designers have extended the wheelbase and the wheel size of the car. The result is shorter overhangs, as well as a lot more interior space including a large storage area between the front seats.
In the Concept Recharge these advancements have led designers to reposition the seats, optimise the roof profile and lower the hood of the car while retaining the high eye point beloved by drivers of cars like the Volvo XC40, XC60 and XC90. This approach creates efficiency gains in aerodynamics compared to a typical SUV, which improves range.
This concept car also introduces a new Volvo design language. Continuing the theme of ‘less but better’, all unnecessary elements have been removed and what remains is treated with a high-precision, flush execution.
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The traditional grille has been replaced with a shield-like structure, supported by a new interpretation of Volvo Cars’ Thor’s Hammer headlight design. These include the latest HD technology-enabled pure graphic which open at night to reveal the main lamp units.
Signature vertical rear lamps connect to the brand’s strong design heritage, but are reimagined with a set of wings that extend at higher cruising speeds to further improve overall aerodynamics.
“Our Concept Recharge represents a manifesto for the all-electric future of Volvo Cars, as well as a new type of vehicle,” said Robin Page, head of design. “It displays new and modern proportions that go hand-in-hand with increased versatility and shows what technology can enable in terms of design.”
The Volvo design language also takes a new form inside the Concept Recharge. The flat floor provides more space and a better seating position for all those inside the car.
A large, 15-inch standing touch screen is the centre of a new and improved user experience for the company’s next-generation connected infotainment system. Designed to be logical and intuitive to use, technology helps provide a serene and calm experience.
The latest infotainment technology goes hand in hand with those other hallmarks of Scandinavian design: clean lines and extensive use of sustainable and natural materials inside the cabin.
“Inside the Concept Recharge, we create a truly Scandinavian living room feeling,” said Page.
“The interior integrates our latest user experience technology with beautiful, sustainable and natural materials. Each part of the interior is like a piece of art and could stand alone as individual furniture in a room. We use the latest technologies but not for their own sake. We always focus on the benefits that technologies can bring.”
Finally, the Concept Recharge also reflects Volvo Cars’ safety ambitions in coming years. A LiDAR sensor, built by technology company Luminar and a critical part of Volvo Cars’ plan for forthcoming safe autonomous drive technology, is placed in an optimal position on the roof to collect data on the environment around the car.
OTHER KEY POINTS
> Software goes in-house, with help from Google
Volvo Cars will take software development in-house as a car’s appeal increasingly becomes more defined by software-driven functions and features, rather than traditional automotive attributes.
It will continue work with Google for next generation safe and connected user experience
The next generation of Volvo Cars’ approach to user experience is part of the VolvoCars.OS, an umbrella of the various operating systems in electric Volvos across the car and the cloud, and starts with Android Automotive OS and a new in-car display approach.
Volvo Cars and Google are together building a user experience for simplicity to optimise safety. The user experience design is built on a clear split of information for the driver, according to the level of relevance while behind the wheel.
Future Volvo cars will also come with a large, centralised touch screen that provides rich content, easy-to-see information and responsive interaction. The principle is that everything customers need should always be easily accessible, either by touch or by voice command. No immediate needs or information are buried deep inside menus, many clicks away.
> Improved safety with real-time data from customer cars
For its next generation of cars, Volvo Cars is looking towards processing data from customer cars in real time, if customers choose to share data and help Volvo Cars make its cars safer.
By allowing customers to choose and be a part of improving safety levels and traffic safety in this way, Volvo Cars can make continuous and much faster improvements to its cars, constantly improving safety levels. This data would include continuous inputs on the car’s environment from sensors such as the high-resolution LiDAR delivered by technology company Luminar.
Volvo Cars engineers would be able to validate and verify autonomous drive (AD) features quicker, to promote a safe roll-out of AD technology. Verified updates to existing systems and new features can be rolled out rapidly through over-the-air-updates, increasing the safety of Volvo cars step by step.
The first car to benefit from this new approach to safety development is the company’s first SUV on a completely new electric-only technology base.
To process the real-time traffic data they will collect, Volvo Cars and Zenseact are investing in a data factory that will contain more than 200 PebiBytes (225 million gigabytes) of data within the next few years. By using artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, data can be crunched at record times.
Customers will be able to choose whether this data is collected about them, and all collected data will be aggregated with adequate safeguards for customer privacy.
Keyword: Volvo Cars Tech Moment: Volvo Concept Recharge and other highlights