With its first EV – the XC40 Recharge – out and about, Volvo announced a new era in the way it segmented its product range.
The Swedish marque said it now used three letters to denote its models: B (for ‘battery’, used in 48V mild hybrids), T (Twin Engine, meaning an internal combustion engine plus an electric motor, thus essentially a PHEV), and P (pure electric, self-explanatory). The D letter, which used to denote diesel, is no longer there, as all ICE engines now fall under the B category.
In addition to the above, all hybrid and all-electric models will have the word ‘Recharge’ added to their names. Separate badges will be added to denote all-wheel drive (AWD), trim level (e.g., Inscription or R-Design), and various Polestar upgrades.
As for the numbers, the P8 means a battery capacity between 70 and 80 kilowatt-hours (the XC40 Recharge has 78 kWh, for instance). Later on, such nomenclature as P6 and P10 will be added. In the T and B product lines, the number next to the letter cannot be precisely interpreted into their respective engine power, but it still provides a general hint about their strength (the more, the stronger) and, respectively, the price.
The company hopes to bring the sales of its emerging P line up to about 50% of its total car sales by 2025.
