Electric vehicles (EVs) are all the rage lately, which makes a kind of sense considering what the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy usually has to say regarding fossil fuel prices at the end of each month. A big issue, as ever, is money. So when we hear that Volvo has finally launched the EX30, its cheapest EV to date, in South Africa, our ears prick up.
The EX30 was officially unveiled last week at Johannesburg’s Victoria Yards and is bringing with it a starting price of “just” R776,000 and the “smallest CO2 footprint of any Volvo car to date.” There’s no use denying the price is a steep one, especially when compared to some of SA’s other “budget-friendly” EVs, like GWM’s Ora or the yet-to-be-confirmed BYD Dolphin Mini.
Not so slow, Volvo EX30
Impressive new XC30 electric car from @VolvoCar_SA #VolvoEX30. Not many cars have a sound bar. And it has a frunk. pic.twitter.com/vILYfA5z0i
— Toby Shapshak (@shapshak) February 22, 2024
“We’re excited to launch the new EX30 in South Africa as part of the first wave of this important new model’s global rollout. We believe that the EX30 will become one of our best-selling models as we continue to work towards our local and global sustainability ambitions,” said Greg Maruszewski, Volvo Car SA Managing Director.
That doesn’t mean it isn’t worth the starting price. We’ll find that out for ourselves soon enough, but from what we’ve seen, Volvo’s blown the budget on making this a compact SUV you won’t want to leave. There are three levels of trim available — Core, Plus and Ultra — with the latter two having the option of a single or twin motor set-up, making for five models altogether.
Here is the list of all variants and their prices:
- EX30 Core (Single Motor) – R776,000
- EX30 Plus (Single Motor Extended Range) – R866,000
- Ex30 Plus (Twin Motor Performance) – R935,000
- EX30 Ultra (Single Motor Extended Range) – R966,000
- EX30 Ultra (Twin Motor Performance) – R996,000
Considering the price, the Core is the most interesting and engaging of the lot — with its one motor on the rear axle managing 200kW of output power and 343Nm of torque — boasting a 5.7-second 0-100km\h speed. And that’s just the slowest of the bunch. Hop into the nearly R1-million car and you’ll be hitting that target in 3.6 seconds, making it the “fastest-accelerating Volvo ever.”
If range is what you’re after, the Core model — stuffed with a lithium-iron-phosphate 51kWh battery — will get you 344km on a single charge (on the WLTP cycle). Picking up the more expensive Single Motor Extended range options in the Plus or Ultra means you’ll be getting a higher-capacity nickel-manganese-cobalt-oxide (NMC) battery and a WLTP range of 476km.
It’d be a bit of a waste if Volvo didn’t jam-pack this thing with as much tech as possible, right? The Ex30 dons a 12.3in Google-fied infotainment system, which handles most of the everyday functionality, such as navigation, mirror adjustments, climate control, and fiddling with what seems to be the car’s best feature — a Harmon Kardon soundbar spanning the length of the dash, allowing for a little more room in the doors for storage. Only available in the Plus and Ultra models, unfortunately. Oh, and it has a frunk.