EX30 SUV will not only offer smaller dimensions but also Volvo’s lowest carbon footprint
Two weeks before the public gets its official debut of the upcoming EX30 small SUV, Volvo continues to trickle new tidbits of information to us to build anticipation. This morning, the automaker shared that the upcoming SUV represents its lowest total carbon footprint to date, reducing its environmental impact by a huge fraction compared to its current EV models.
It’s only been 14 days since Volvo began teasing the debut (and the compact size) of its latest model, dubbed the EX30. So far, we know the small SUV will be targeted toward a younger demographic, those who prefer to shop online.
Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan previously relayed the new SUV would arrive at a “really nice price point” for an entry-level EV that will be smaller than a C40 Recharge with a decent range. Rowan also described the EX30 as “very safe,” a factor Volvo elaborated further upon last week.
The automaker said the small SUV was designed with the safety we’ve come to expect from Volvo, with an added focus on protection for people inside and out of the EV in crowded city settings. While Volvo takes pride in its reputation for safety, it is also working to establish itself as a leading automaker in sustainability, vowing to go all-electric and become entirely carbon neutral by 2040.
Today, Volvo is touting a large breakthrough in reducing CO₂ emissions throughout an EV’s entire life cycle as the EX30 SUV will arrive as its lowest carbon footprint vehicle to date.
According to an update from Volvo Cars early this morning, it has successfully lowered the emissions across the production and estimated life cycle (200,000 km or 125k miles) to under 30 tons (based upon usage of charging electricity from the EU27 electricity mix).
Volvo states this is a 25% decrease in overall CO₂ emissions compared to its C40 and XC40 Recharge EVs. The automaker also says this decrease shows tremendous progress in lowering carbon emissions per car by 2025. Volvo Cars’ global head of sustainability, Anders Kärrberg, elaborated:
Our new EX30 is a big step in the right direction for our sustainability ambitions. By 2025, we aim to reduce our overall CO₂ emissions per car by 40 percent from 2018 levels through a 50 percent reduction in overall tailpipe emissions, and a 25 percent 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 was Volvo able to cut the emissions of its upcoming small SUV by a quarter? First, a smaller vehicle requires less material – that’s an easy one – but the automaker also used less steel and aluminum in the EX30 while prioritizing more recycled materials. Volvo says about 25% of the aluminum and 17% of the steel used to produce the SUV is recycled.
Additionally, roughly 17% of all plastics inside and out of the car are recycled and tally together as the highest percentage in any Volvo vehicle to date. Lastly, the EX90 will be assembled in a facility that is powered by high levels of climate-neutral energy, including 100% climate-neutral electricity.
With 95% of Volvo’s Tier 1 suppliers already committed to using 100% renewable energy in their production by 2025, Volvo’s sustainability will continue to expand beyond its own walls, paving the way for future EVs that will produce even fewer carbon emissions across their entire life span.
The Volvo EX30 small SUV is scheduled to make its global debut on June 7. Be sure to check back with Electrek for the latest news surrounding this new EV model.
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If you’ve ever wondered what happens when you combine a fruit cart, a cargo bike, and a Piaggio Ape all in one vehicle, now you’ve got your answer. I submit, for your approval, this week’s feature for the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week column – and it’s a beautiful doozie.
Feast your eyes on this salad slinging, coleslaw cruising, tuber taxiing produce chariot!
I think this electric vegetable trike might finally scratch the itch long felt by many of my readers. It seems every time I cover an electric trike, even the really cool ones, I always get commenters poo-poo-ing it for having two wheels in the rear instead of two wheels in the front. Well, here you go, folks!
Designed with two front wheels for maximum stability, this trike keeps your cucumbers in check through every corner. Because trust me, you don’t want to hit a pothole and suddenly be juggling peaches like you’re in Cirque du Soleil: Farmers Market Edition.
To avoid the extra cost of designing a linked steering system for a pair of front wheels, the engineers who brought this salad shuttle to life simply side-stepped that complexity altogether by steering the entire fixed front end. I’ve got articulating electric tractors that steer like this, and so if it works for a several-ton work machine, it should work for a couple hundred pounds of cargo bike.
Featuring a giant cargo bed up front with four cascading fruit baskets set up for roadside sales, this cargo bike is something of a blank slate. Sure, you could monetize grandma’s vegetable garden, or you could fill it with your own ideas and concoctions. Our exceedingly talented graphics wizard sees it as the perfect coffee and pastry e-bike for my new startup, The Handlebarista, and I’m not one to argue. Basically, the sky is the limit with a blank slate bike like this!
Sure, the quality doesn’t quite match something like a fancy Tern cargo bike. The rim brakes aren’t exactly confidence-inspiring, but at least there are three of them. And if they should all give out, or just not quite slow you down enough to avoid that quickly approaching brick wall, then at least you’ve got a couple hundred pounds of tomatoes as a tasty crumple zone.
The electrical system does seem a bit underpowered. With a 36V battery and a 250W motor, I don’t know if one-third of a horsepower is enough to haul a full load to the local farmer’s market. But I guess if the weight is a bit much for the little motor, you could always do some snacking along the way. On the other hand, all the pictures seem to show a non-electric version. So if this cart is presumably mobile on pedal power alone, then that extra motor assist, however small, is going to feel like a very welcome guest.
The $950 price is presumably for the electric version, since that’s what’s in the title of the listing, though I wouldn’t get too excited just yet. I’ve bought a LOT of stuff on Alibaba, including many electric vehicles, and the too-good-to-be-true price is always exactly that. In my experience, you can multiply the Alibaba price by 3-4x to get the actual landed price for things like these. Even so, $3,000-$4,000 wouldn’t be a terrible price, considering a lot of electric trikes stateside already cost that much and don’t even come with a quad-set of vegetable baskets on board!
I should also put my normal caveat in here about not actually buying one of these. Please, please don’t try to buy one of these awesome cargo e-trikes. This is a silly, tongue-in-cheek weekend column where I scour the ever-entertaining underbelly of China’s massive e-commerce site Alibaba in search of fun, quirky, and just plain awesomely weird electric vehicles. While I’ve successfully bought several fun things on the platform, I’ve also gotten scammed more than once, so this is not for the timid or the tight-budgeted among us.
That isn’t to say that some of my more stubborn readers haven’t followed in my footsteps before, ignoring my advice and setting out on their own wild journey. But please don’t be the one who risks it all and gets nothing in return. Don’t say I didn’t warn you; this is the warning.
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Environment
Podcast: Trump/GOP go after EV/solar, Tesla, Ford, GM EV sales, Electrek Formula Sun, and more
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Trump’s Big Beautiful bill becoming law and going after EVs and solar, Tesla, Ford, and GM EV sales, Electrek Formula Sun, and more
Today’s episode is brought to you by Bosch Mobility Aftermarket—A global leader and trusted provider of automotive aftermarket parts. To celebrate Amazon Prime Day July 8th through 11th, Bosch Mobility is offering exclusive savings on must-have auto parts and tools. Learn more here.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.
Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
- Electrek FSGP 2025: New teams, new cars, same solar spirit
- Congress votes to send 2 million US jobs to China, increase deficit, energy costs
- Tesla (TSLA) confirms 384,000 deliveries in Q2 2025, right on expectations
- Tesla prototype sparks speculation: a Model Y, maybe slightly smaller
- Tesla launches Oasis Supercharger with solar farm and off-grid batteries
- Tesla unveils its LFP battery factory, claims it’s almost ready
- Here’s why Ford’s electric vehicle sales crashed by nearly a third in Q2
- The Chevy Equinox EV is GM’s breakout star, but that’s not the only surprise
- Xpeng launches G7, a new Tesla Model Y competitor for just $27,000
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET:
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