2024 Volvo C40 Recharge, XC40 Recharge Get RWD Models, Added Range

For the 2024 model year, Volvo’s two small electric vehicles are getting new motors and added range. They’re also getting a feature not seen on a Volvo product since the late 1990s – rear-wheel drive (RWD).

The C40 Recharge and XC40 Recharge are both compact, all-electric SUVs. Like many European car builders, Volvo now offers essentially the same SUV in two flavors. One, the XC40 Recharge, is a traditional, boxy SUV with maximum storage space. The other, the C40 Recharge, is what designers call an “SUV coupe.” Unlike a true coupe, it has four doors. But it borrows the sleek, coupe-like roofline of sports coupes for an added dash of style, giving up some cargo space in the process.

Both, for the 2023 model year, come only in all-wheel drive (AWD). Our expert reviewers like both for their power and comfort but took issue with their below-average range.

Volvo, it turns out, has been working on that problem.

The company says new, second-generation electric motors are the key. Volvo hasn’t released prices for the 2024 editions. For the current model year, the C40 Recharge starts at $55,300, while the XC40 Recharge starts at $53,550.

For next year, even the AWD versions will get more range thanks to more efficient motors. The 2024 XC40 Recharge is rated at 254 miles –31 miles more than before. The C40 now gets 257 miles, up from 226 before. Both keep the same 402 horsepower total.

New RWD editions, though, are the real range stars. A 248-horsepower electric motor should keep performance more than respectable. But it boosts the C40 Recharge to 297 miles and its XC40 Recharge cousin to 293 miles between charges.

Both, Volvo says, are also capable of charging faster. Attached to a DC fast charger (the fastest type of public charger), Volvo says either can charge from 10% to 80% in just 28 minutes.