Volvo XC40 Recharge Taxis trialling WIRELESS EV charging

Volvo is using a fleet of XC40 Recharge Taxis in Gothenburg to trial wireless EV charging, delivering up to 40kW rates without plugging in.

Back in 2020, Jaguar got involved with a project in solo to trial wireless EV charging with a fleet of 25 i-Pace taxis in Oslo.

The system used a high-powered wireless induction system using charging plates to charge the cars at Taxi Ranks, enabling the taxi drivers to charge while they waited for a fare without all the faff of plugging in. The system would automatically add charge to the I-Pace Taxis at a rate of 50-75kW.

Now it’s Volvo’s turn to trail wireless EV charging with the XC40 Recharge, this time in Gothenburg.

The Volvo system is supplied by Momentum Dynamics and starts automatically when a compatible car parks over the charging pad embedded in the Taxi Rank, promising to deliver charge at 40kW, a chunk less than the I-Pace trial offered.

The XC40s will be used for 12 hours a day and clock up 62,000 miles a year to deliver proper long-term durability data to see if wireless charging is a practical and effective way to go.

Mats Moberg, Head of R&D at Voilvo, said:

Gothenburg Green City Zone lets us try exciting new technologies in a real environment and evaluate them over time for a potential future broader introduction. Testing new charging technologies together with selected partners is a good way to evaluate alternative charging options for our future cars.