Don’t underestimate the Volvo EX30’s small size. As the first EX30 models reach European buyers, Volvo sees it as a best-seller over the next few years.
In June, Volvo unveiled its smallest and cheapest SUV, the EX30 (see our review). The Swedish automaker calls the electric SUV a “cornerstone” of its EV plans.
Starting at $34,950 (36,000 euros), it will be one of the most affordable electric cars on the market. With “above-expected order rates,” Volvo will build the EX30 at its Ghent, Belgium plant (in addition to China) to meet the growing demand in Europe for low-cost EVS.
Although EU production isn’t expected to begin until 2025, Volvo revealed the first EX30 models were handed over to customers last month.
In December, Volvo began deliveries in Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal in one of the most highly anticipated EV rollouts.
The company said the first EX30 deliveries mark a “significant milestone” in the company’s growth and EV strategies. Volvo expects the EX30 to become “one of your best sellers in the coming years.”
Volvo expects the EX30 to become a best-seller.
With “above-expected order rates,” the EX30 is drawing significant attention. Despite a slowdown in December, Volvo hit a new sales record in 2023. Volvo’s EV sales were up 70% last year, with over 113K purely electric vehicles sold.
Volvo’s EVs accounted for 16% of total sales, up from 10.9% in 2022. However, Volvo expects to turn things up this year with a full year of EX30 sales.
CEO Jim Rowan said he expects “reasonably decent volumes” in 2024 with new models launching in key segments.
Volvo’s first three-row electric SUV, the EX90, will go on sale soon. It will start at $76,695 in the US as a direct rival to the Rivian R1S and Mercedes EQS.
In China, Volvo is also launching its first electric minivan, the EM90. The EV minivan features a “Scandinavian living room” and up to 450 mi CLTC range.
Rowan confirmed the company is “not seeing any order cancellations or any slowdown in order intake” last month when asked about the “reported slowdown.”
Volvo Car USA spokesperson Russell Datz told Electrek Volvo EX30 deliveries are still on track to begin in the US this summer.
The electric SUV will be available in two powertrains: Single Motor Extended Range and Twin Motor Performance. The extended range model features up to 275 miles range while the Performance variant gets 265 miles.
Meanwhile, with 422 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque, the performance version is Volvo’s quickest car yet. It can go from 0 to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds.
You can learn more about the EX30 and reserve your model on Volvo’s website. Volvo says a dealer will help finalize the process ahead of deliveries.
Electrek’s Take
Volvo is launching the EX30 at the perfect time. Demand for affordable electric cars continues building.
In the US, two of the cheapest EVs, the Chevy Bolt and Nissan LEAF, are due for replacements. GM already stopped building the low-cost Bolt at the end of 2023 (although you can still get it for under $20K while in stock).
The Bolt EVs replacement isn’t due out until next year, giving the EX30 a full sales year to get ahead.
The same situation is happening in Europe. Several automakers are targetting the low-cost EV market, including Stellantis with the Citroen e-C3. The electric car starts at around 23,000 euros (24,500) as one of Europe’s most affordable EVs.
Volkswagen also plans to launch its $27,000 (25,000 euro) EV, the ID 2all. However, a recent local media report suggests VW may delay ID 2all volume production by another year, giving Volvo a bigger window to expand.
What do you guys think? Will the Volvo EX30 become a best-seller? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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Stand With Crypto’s bus tour through five battleground states kicked off last week in Phoenix and Las Vegas.
Logan Dobson/Stand With Crypto Alliance
LAS VEGAS — In Nevada’s 4th Congressional District, a crypto PAC spent nearly $2 million on ads this cycle to support the reelection of Steven Horsford, a Democratic congressman who’s voted in favor of some major pro-crypto bills.
But watching the ads, you’d learn nothing about that agenda.
“He’s leading on jobs, bringing good paying union jobs to Nevada and rebuilding our infrastructure,” one 30-second commercial says. “He capped insulin prices at $35 a month” and “worked multiple jobs to support his hard-working single mother and siblings.”
The ad wraps up with the disclosure, “Fairshake is responsible for the content of this ad.”
Fairshake was the largest crypto-aligned super PAC in the 2024 election cycle, spending piles of cash to support crypto allies and vote out antagonists across the country. The group brought in $170 million, accounting for a huge chunk of the amount raised by crypto-related PACs and other groups, which totaled more than $245 million, according to Federal Election Commission data.
Crypto has accounted for nearly half of all corporate money flowing into the election, according to a report from nonprofit watchdog Public Citizen. No other sector is close. That includes oil companies and banks, which have historically been big political contributors. Crypto even outpaced Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, who spent tens of millions of dollars to try to get Republican nominee former President Donald Trump back in the White House in his contest against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
A big part of the crypto industry’s strategy when it came to distributing cash was to identify key races and then flood the zone.
Horsford received an A grade based on his public comments and his voting history while in office. His campaign received money from Fairshake as well as individual donations from Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, venture capitalist and longtime crypto investor Reid Hoffman, and billionaire twins Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss.
Nevada is home to two of the thirteen “critical elections” singled out by Stand with Crypto, a designation the group defines as races that are “critical to the future of crypto in America.” In addition to Horsford’s election, the other Nevada race is the Senate contest between Democratic incumbent Jackie Rosen and Republican challenger Sam Brown. Both candidates received an A grade.
According to data shared by Stand with Crypto, 385,000 Nevadans are crypto owners, and more than 16,000 people in the state have signed up to be advocates for the group, which made a stop in Las Vegas in September as part of a multi-state tour.
The other races deemed critical were for Senate in Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Massachusetts, Michigan, Wisconsin and Maryland, and for specific House contests in Colorado, Iowa and Oregon.
To reach potential voters, Fairshake isn’t talking a lot about crypto. Nor are its affiliate PACs, which have names like Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress. They’ve collectively spent more than $135 million this cycle, mostly on ads.
“Not mentioning crypto assets explicitly is probably a savvy move to avoid alienating voters who prefer traditional currencies and might be put off by connections to crypto,” said David Nickerson, an associate professor of political science at Temple University who worked in the analytics department for President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign in 2012.
The biggest single target of crypto money this cycle was Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Democratic chair of the Senate Banking Committee. Brown backed Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in holding hearings on whether digital tokens were tied to terrorism.
In December, Brown told journalists that he wasn’t concerned about the crypto industry’s rumblings against him.
“Bring ’em on,” Politico quoted Brown as saying to a crowd of reporters.
Some $40 million of crypto money has been directed at defeating Brown, and one PAC has paid for five ads designed to boost awareness of Republican rival Bernie Moreno, a blockchain entrepreneur. The race is crucial in determining which party will control the Senate.
Protect Progress, a PAC affiliated with Fairshake, has given more than $10 million apiece to Senate candidates in Arizona and Michigan. In Arizona, the group favors Democrat Ruben Gallego, who is vying for the seat being vacated by Kyrsten Sinema. In Michigan, the preferred choice is Elissa Slotkin, who is currently a Democratic House member.
Democratic Rep. Katie Porter of California lost in the primary for Senate after Fairshake spent over $10 million in ads against her. Defend American Jobs spent more than $3 million to support Republican Jim Justice in West Virginia, who has been declared the winner, replacing exiting Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin.
On today’s episode of Quick Charge, we find out what a one-ton Tesla Cybertruck looks like, check out some clever, off-road Kia overland EVs, witness the electric rebirth of Plymouth with a plugin street rod, and more!
We’ve also got a bunch of new, $300/mo. EV lease deals and talk up the rapid rise of the Ultium-based Honda Prologue, which is rocketing up the sales charts!
Today’s episode features our new title sponsor, BLUETTI – a leading provider of portable power stations, solar generators, and energy storage systems. For a limited time, save up to 50% during BLUETTI’s exclusive Black Friday pre-sale, now through November 11. Learn more by clicking here here.
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Tesla appears to be doubling down on its new “Oasis” Supercharger station concept, which consists of larger stations powered by solar and a microgrid battery system.
Although, this new one is a bit less ambitious.
Last month, Tesla announced its “project Oasis” (pictured above), which should become one of Tesla’s largest Supercharger stations with several pull-through stalls for trucks and trailers, but the real differentiating factor is a large solar array and battery system that enables the charging station to operate off-grid mostly.
CEO Elon Musk has been saying that the goal of the Supercharger network is to be powered by solar and batteries and mostly off-grid since 2016, but Tesla has yet to make this common.
The announcement of the Project Oasis gave us some hope that it might finally happen, and now it looks like Tesla is planning a mini Oasis.
Marco RP, who tracks Supercharger projects, reported on the new construction plans submitted for the Coalinga, California station:
The project is about 50 miles north of Project Oasis – also on Interstate 5 between Los Angeles and the Bay Area.
We call it a “mini Oasis” not because it has fewer charging stations than Oasis; it actually has the same number of planned stalls, 168 stalls, but because it doesn’t have as much solar and batteries to enable off-grid use.
Oasis has 11 MW of planned solar power and 39 MWh of energy storage.
This new project in Coalinga has less than 1 MW of solar and 15.5 MWh of energy storage. In the case of Oasis, the grid complements Tesla’s microgrid, and in this new project, it’s Tesla’s microgrid that complements the grid connection.
But Tesla could eventually expand its solar array and battery storage system at the new station.
This new station also includes restrooms, which Tesla has sometimes deployed at bigger stations.
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