Volvo has announced that it will be increasing production of the V60 Plug-In Hybrid, in preparation for first customer deliveries of the car, set to begin in early 2013. Production will increase to somewhere under 6,000 units per year, considerably more than the 1,000 cars which have already been built.
The Volvo V60 Plug-In Hybrid runs on electricity and diesel fuel, and the choice of three different operating modes puts the driver directly in control of their environmental footprint.
Compared to an equivalent V60 the plug-in hybrid version has an additional 300 parts, such as the electric motor, custom cooling system and battery pack (see video above).
According to Peter Mertens, Senior Vice President Research and Development at Volvo Car Corporation, the 11.2 kWh lithium-ion battery is the most complex system in the vehicle.
After the initial batch of 1,000 cars for model year 2013, production of the V60 Plug-in Hybrid will increase to 4,000-6,000 cars as of model year 2014.
About 30% of total volume will go to Sweden and the other Nordic countries. Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the UK will have a share of between 5 and 15% each. Volvo Car Corporation expects that 80% of total sales will be in the form of company cars.
