By Redação AutoIndústria | 3/15/23 | Translated by Jorge Meditsch
Announced at the end of 2021, Volvo Cars’ ultrafast chargers installation in the country keeps at full steam. The Swedish brand released this Tuesday, 3/15, a balance of the actions already implemented and ongoing, ensuring that up to the end of this semester, all 13 charge stations of the first phase will be operating.
Until now, there are seven in operation, connecting São Paulo with the state interior and Paraná and Minas Gerais. 1,614 recharges, consuming 38,106 kWh, were completed – “enough to supply 221 homes for one month”, informs the manufacturer.
“It is one of the greatest investments by a single brand in electrification in Brazil”, comments Marcelo Godoy, Volvo Cars Latin America Finances and Charging Infrastructure Operations Brazil’s director. “We are expanding and providing electric car owners more options for inter-municipal and interstate travel. What was before a great restraint for electric car owners, Volvo is transforming in solution”.
According to Rafael Ugo, the company’s regional marketing director, the energy used by the seven electro-stations would enable a vehicle such as the XC40 Recharge Ultimate to ride 288 thousand kilometers. “It’s equivalent to seven times the Earth’s circumference”, he affirms. Rafael Ugo, Volvo Cars Latin America’s marketing director: “All this without emitting pollutants. A savings of 44 tons of CO2 for our atmosphere.”
The second phase of the ultrafast electro-stations, to be concluded by February 2024, will demand investments of about R$ 12 million to build 15 more points in six Brazilian states: Minas Gerais, Goiás, Santa Catarina, Mato Grosso, Paraná and Rio de Janeiro. The objective is to connect them to neighboring states, such as Espírito Santo.
“We are making history and transforming the industry”, emphasizes Godoy. “We are leaders in hybrid and electric cars sales, and this is our legacy: promoting infrastructure not only for the brand’s customers but also for all electric vehicle owners in the country. We are expanding even more; this is only the second of five phases.
The company says all chargers are monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and can be restarted remotely if needed.
The implantation of the second phase includes a partnership with Vibra, which distributes and commercializes fuels and lubricants in Brazil. “We will use the most modern there is in connectivity and Vibra’s expertise to promote our expansion. We are just beginning, much more will be announced soon. We are here not to compete but to build”, says Godoy.
