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Signs deal for C30 demo operations in Shanghai

SHANGHAI - Volvo Car Corp last week announced it will start field trials on its C30 electric car in the eastern metropolis, becoming the latest in a line of global automakers to test electric vehicles in China.

The Swedish carmaker, now owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co, signed a memorandum of understanding on Nov 8 with Shanghai International Autocity Development Co Ltd to lease its electric C30 for demonstration operations in Jiading district on the western outskirts of Shanghai.

Shanghai is the third locale outside Sweden after Paris and Los Angeles where the automaker is testing its electric C30. Volvo said it will collect data needed for future mass production of the model.

The carmaker now has plans for only limited production of the model. Most of the initial 250 C30 electric cars will be leased to fleet customers such as government authorities and companies in Sweden, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, the US and China, according to the company.

The electric C30 is powered by a 24 kWh lithium battery pack that offers a range of up to 150 kilometers on a single charge. It accelerates from zero to 100 km in 10.5 seconds and is able to reach maximum speed of 130 km/h.

Volvo Cars China and Shanghai International Automobile City Group - a local government supervision authority - has decided to undertake a fleet demonstration programme with a test fleet of two Volvo C30 Electric cars in the community of Jiading outside Shanghai.

"We are very proud to bring the first Volvo C30 Electric cars to China and contribute to the electrification of the country", says Freeman Shen, chairman of Volvo Cars China.

The purpose is to gain better understanding of customer behaviour and expectations from operating electric cars.

In January 2011, Shanghai was selected as an international electric vehicle pilot city by the Chinese government and the Jiading district of Shanghai was announced as an electric vehicle demonstration zone. An infrastructure with over 13,000 charging stations and 15 battery swapping stations is being built, in order to support the real life use of electric vehicles.

Electrification of cars is a clear strategy for the Chinese Government in order to reduce the country's dependency on oil and longer term also to reduce CO2 emissions from transports.