Volvo EX30 all electric SUV to have lowest carbon footprint

GOTHENBURG, Sweden: The all-electric Volvo EX30 small SUV is designed to have the lowest carbon footprint of any Volvo car to date.

By tackling emissions across the entire production and lifecycle of the Volvo EX30, Volvo Cars managed to reduce its total carbon footprint over 200,000 kms of driving to below 30 tonnes.

This is a 25% reduction compared with our fully electric C40 and XC40 models – a good step towards Volvo Cars' aim to cut our overall CO2 emissions per car by 40% between 2018 and 2025.

As a fully electric car, the Volvo EX30 has zero tailpipe emissions, which not only contributes to a lower CO2 footprint.

The impact on air quality can be significant: for example, new research by the University of Southern California found that even a small increase in electric cars in an area has a direct positive effect on the amount of emergency room visits due to asthma.

“Our new EX30 is a big step in the right direction for our sustainability ambitions,” said Anders Kärrberg, Volvo Cars global head of sustainability.

“By 2025, we aim to reduce our overall CO2 emissions per car by 40% from 2018 levels through a 50% reduction in overall tailpipe emissions, and a 25% reduction in emissions from our operations, raw material sourcing and supply chain – all on the way towards our ambition of being a climate-neutral company by 2040.”

So how did Volvo Cars cut the CO2 footprint of the Volvo EX30 to 75% of the group's current electric models?

First of all, designing a smaller car means that you need less material to produce it.

While Volvo Cars use less steel and aluminium when building its new small SUV, more of it is also recycled content.

Around a quarter of all aluminium used in building the car is recycled, as is 17% of all steel used in producing a Volvo EX30, further reducing the environmental impact from those materials.

The new Volvo EX30 will be revealed on 7 June.