2024 Volvo C40 and XC40 Recharge Go RWD, Boosting Range to Nearly 300 Miles

Volvo is reconfiguring the C40 and XC40 Recharge’s electric powertrain for 2024.A new 248-hp rear-wheel-drive base model offers considerably more range and should cost less, too.Range increases to 293–297 miles for the single-motor version, while the dual-motor AWD model also gets a range boost to 254–257 miles.

Volvo is expanding and improving its EV lineup for 2024 with some notable changes to the C40 Recharge and XC40 Recharge models. They both gain a new rear-wheel-drive single-motor version with a larger battery and considerably more range, while the existing dual-motor all-wheel-drive variants also boost range thanks to efficiency improvements.

The new RWD cars have a 248-horsepower electric motor and battery with 79.0-kWh usable capacity, which enables a 297 mile range in the C40 Recharge and a slightly lower 293 mile range in the less aerodynamic XC40 Recharge. These models are also capable of a higher DC fast-charging rate of 200 kilowatts, which Volvo claims enables it to charge from 10 percent to 80 percent in 28 minutes.

The dual-motor configuration continues into 2024 as well and continues to make 402 horsepower like before. But Volvo says that the electric motors are different, with the rear motor now making 255 hp and the front motor now an asynchronous type that is able to disconnect when it’s not needed. These efficiency improvements, also helped by new 19-inch wheels that are more aerodynamic, mean that the AWD models’ 75.0-kWh battery provides considerably more range. The XC40 is now rated at 254 miles, 31 miles more than before, while the C40 goes from 226 miles up to 257 miles.

Volvo hasn’t released pricing yet but we expect the RWD versions to cost less than the outgoing 2023 C40 and XC40 Recharge, which were offered only with a dual-motor powertrain and started in the mid-$50,000 range. Volvo says these updated 2024 EVs will go on sale in the U.S. in the second half of this year.

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Despite being raised on a steady diet of base-model Hondas and Toyotas—or perhaps because of it—Joey Capparella nonetheless cultivated an obsession for the automotive industry throughout his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee. He found a way to write about cars for the school newspaper during his college years at Rice University, which eventually led him to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his first professional auto-writing gig at Automobile Magazine. He has been part of the Car and Driver team since 2016 and now lives in New York City.