Long known for its focus on safety, Volvo aims to enhance that reputation when it brings a wave of battery-electric vehicles to market over the next few years, starting with the new EX30 crossover.
With the EX30, an urban-oriented crossover, it will put an emphasis on preventing the sort of crashes that are all too common in city environments, the automaker said, including “dooring accidents” that occur when a passenger inadvertently opens up a vehicle’s door into the path of an oncoming cyclist.
The EX30 also will introduce a driver monitoring system “for … when you’re not at your best,” along with an assortment of airbags to reduce injuries when a crash does occur.
“We have long had a focus on safety in city environments where cars share space with pedestrians and cyclists,” said Åsa Haglund, the head of the Volvo Safety Centre. “With the Volvo EX30 we are taking city safety to the next level, creating a small SUV that is your perfect companion for a comfortable driving experience, while it looks after you and other people on the busy streets of modern cities.”
Gone electric, big and small
Volvo, the Swedish-based subsidiary of China’s Geely, has a plan to go fully electric by 2030. It already offers several battery-powered models, including the XC40 and has revealed several others. The big EX90 will become its next-generation flagship while the EX30 is set to become the smallest SUV Volvo has ever offered.
The little crossover puts a broad focus on safety, using technology to prevent crashes and, if they occur, to reduce the risk of injuries.
It uses a variety of sensors to track what’s happening both in the vehicle and in the world around the SUV. The new intersection brake system helps prevent the sort of crashes that can occur if another vehicle runs a light, or the driver of an EX30 pulls out into oncoming traffic. It will automatically brake, if necessary, without driver involvement.
A door opening alert, meanwhile, aims to prevent injuries both to passengers and cyclists. “So-called dooring accidents make up as much as a fifth of all reported bike accidents in some cities,” Volvo said in a statement, “and according to Cycling UK, 60 people on average are killed or seriously injured by car doors each year in the UK alone.”
How it works
The new system will use both visual and audio cues to alert a passenger not to open their door into oncoming bike or vehicle traffic.
The EX30 will use sensors in the steering wheel to make sure a driver is operating the vehicle with their hands on the wheel. It also uses another sensor behind the wheel that monitors eye and face movements around 13 times a second, the automaker said, to spot when a driver is distracted or drowsy. It will then sound an alert, if necessary. Considering U.S. federal safety regulators blame distracted driving for playing a part in at least 10% of all fatal crashes, such a system could have a significant impact on safety.
Accidents happen, of course, no matter how good the safety technology used in a vehicle. So, Volvo engineers took steps to make sure the EX30 will do as much as possible to protect occupants, the automaker noted, using a mix of passive and active systems. That starts with a safety cage built into the vehicle and capable of directing crash loads away from passengers. It also helps maintain battery integrity in a collision.
Separately, there will be a number of airbags inside the EX30, including a “far-side” bag that can pop up between left and right occupants to reduce head and thorax injuries in the event of a side impact.
Volvo plans to unveil the 2024 EX30 on June 7, the same day it will begin taking advance orders. It hasn’t announced when deliveries will begin but that’s not expected until sometime next year.