Volvo hypes the EX30’s ‘smaller’ CO2 footprint

Volvo is back with new details on its forthcoming EX30 electric SUV. This time, the Swedish automaker is talking up the vehicle’s carbon footprint, claiming it is smaller “than any Volvo car ever before.”

In fact, Volvo is so determined to drive home an air of minimization that it made promotional images of the EX30 in miniature. Look how small it is, cruising into a shadow on the dashboard of a regular-sized car.

A promotional image for Volvo’s upcoming EX30 electric SUV.

I don’t want to hear your excuses! The EX30 has to be at least… three times bigger than this.

Volvo claims it cut the EX30’s total CO2 emissions “over 200,000 kms of driving to below 30 tons.” An asterisk beside this quote explains that it is “based on assessment.” Volvo hasn’t said anything about the assessment, aside from calling it a “verified Life Cycle Analysis document” that it plans to publish “at launch.” TechCrunch reached out to Volvo for more details on the paper as well as who will verify it.

The Swedish company already sells two fully electric vehicles, a crossover named C40 and an SUV named XC40. According to Volvo, its upcoming small SUV will emit 25% less CO2 than its current all-electric models. An earlier assessment from Volvo pegged the C40’s total emissions at around 42 tons.

Bear in mind: Electric vehicles on the whole emit less carbon pollution than their gas-powered counterparts, but they’re still no substitute for more efficient forms of transportation, including public buses and trains.

For the EX30, Volvo said it cut down on CO2 pollution by using recycled metals and plastics, eliminating components, pledging to make it in a “factory powered by high levels of climate-neutral energy,” asking “tier 1 suppliers” to do the same, and tracing raw materials like lithium and cobalt with “blockchain technology.” Please don’t get us started on the blockchain’s carbon footprint.

Volvo added in a statement, “designing a smaller car means that you need less material to produce it.” Still, Volvo hasn’t announced the EX30’s dimensions. The company told TechCrunch that those details will come on June 7. Who knows? Maybe it really will be freakishly small?

Or not: Carscoops reports the EX30 will sit between 165 and 170 inches long, putting it in Mini Countryman territory. That wouldn’t be far off from Volvo’s electric crossover, which clocks in at 174.8″ long.