And now we can safely say we've seen it all... Perhaps for the first time in the history of the automotive industry, a crashed vehicle will take its rightful place under the spotlight of a major auto show, amidst the glamour and shine of brand new vehicles.
Swedish manufacturer Volvo, because it is behind it all, tries to remind us that it once was (and probably still is) the king of safety systems in cars by bringing to the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit the remnants of a crash tested C30 electric vehicle.
Of course, the display is not meant to show what was crushed, but what remained intact following the frontal crash tests at 40 mph (64 km/h): batteries and cables. Or, if you ask anyone in the industry, the most important elements of an electric car, aside for the passenger cell, of course.
"The test produced exactly the results we expected. The C30 Electric offers the very same high safety level as a C30 with a combustion engine,” said Jan Ivarsson, Volvo senior manager for Safety Strategy & Requirements.
“The front deformed and distributed the crash energy as we expected. Both the batteries and the cables that are part of the electric system remained entirely intact after the collision," relates Jan Ivarsson.
The Volvo C30 Electric comes powered by a lithium-ion battery and can be charged from a regular power socket. The batteries take eight hours to recharge, providing for a driving range of 150 km (93 miles). The range is enough, according to Volvo's research, for about 90 percent of commuters in Europe. Testing of the model begins this year in the US as well.
Crashed C30 Electric on Display at NAIAS
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