Moving further into the path of electric and hybrid vehicles, the 2021 Volvo XC40 will get an enhanced version of three new hybrid powertrains.

The introduction will further increase the options buyers have as one of them will be a PHEV edition whereas the other two will be petrol variants with limited hybrid technologies.

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The concept of introducing an all-electric car is still a far cry for most automobile brands because they have to extensively replace the platforms. Besides, hybrids are favored more by customers before going all-out with an electric vehicle. After all, unless the car would provide over 200 or 300 miles of range, it would be difficult to depend on a charging port but not a gas station at this point in time.

More Powerful EV Cars, Even though Hybrids

Being a hybrid vehicle will provide automobile manufacturers the opportunity to get a tax exemption from the government. These vehicles are not pure EVs yet contribute a fair share to nature which is why there are tax exemptions that they could make use of. The UK government provides 320 GBP exemption but it will be applicable only on cars that cost over 40,000 pounds in the region.

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In terms of performance, the new plug-in hybrid model which happens to be the most electric of them all will be powered by a 1.5-liter three-cylinder petrol engine. The particular powertrain can comfortably produce 127bhp while the electric motor will deliver another 81 bhp, making it a total of 194bhp that the owner could look forward to in their PHEV model. It will use a seven-speed automatic transmission gearbox system.

The electric range as expected is limited to just 27 miles as the overall battery size is 10.8kWh but nonetheless, it is a good step into the world of hybrid cars. The other two editions will replace the T4 and T5 petrol engines but they are not plug-in hybrids but rather fall under the mild hybrid option. The new powertrains are being denoted as the B4, B5 variants which will include a 2.0-liter petrol engine to provide the booster power of 194bhp. The B5 can go higher at 246bhp and will cost 37,865 pounds on launch.

Based on the reviews and how well these particular powertrains perform on the 2021 Volvo XC40, it will be easier to make a plunge into PHEVs. Tesla may be the best bet for an all-electric car but it might be a few more years before every popular auto brand delivers the same level of performance and reliability.