Volvo ES90 electric car: up to 350 kW charging power

There are still a few days to go before Volvo releases all the information on its ES90 saloon with battery-electric drive. On March 5, the Chinese-owned Swedish brand wants to show the big car and reveal all the details. A few small tidbits are already available in advance, and they promise a high level of excitement.

More than 220 kW on average

Volvo is also taking the step from 400 to 800 volts. This means that a higher output can be called up with the same amperage, as can be seen from the equation “volts times amps equals watts”. According to Volvo, the battery in the ES90 can be charged with up to 350 kW. Under ideal conditions and with an appropriately equipped infrastructure, the ES90 should be able to charge from 10 to 80 percent in 20 minutes. The battery has an energy content of 106 kW – whether net or gross, the manufacturer is not yet revealing. If it is the usable energy content, the average net charging capacity in this range would be 222.6 kW. Charging losses would be added to this, although Volvo emphasizes that less heat is generated when charging with 800 volts. In other words: Charging losses should be lower than before.

700 km range

The all-wheel drive version with two motors and 106 kWh battery should have a range of 700 km in the WLTP. Volvo promises that in ten minutes, under optimum conditions, electricity can be recharged for a further 300 km under cycle conditions. We assume that Volvo also goes to considerable lengths to bring the battery into an ideal temperature window before a charging stop. Audi, among others, has invested a great deal of work in this aspect during the development of the current platform.

(mfz)