Volvo added plenty of charm to the EX30 Cross Country EV
Volvo provided flights from Detroit to Sweden and accommodation so Ars could drive the EX30 Cross Country. Ars does not accept paid editorial content.
When Volvo first announced its small, all-electric EX30, I was excited. Regardless of powertrain, a brand-new Volvo starting at approximately $35,000 was a big deal to me. I might have even suggested online that the EX30 was the most important Volvo ever, full stop. There’s no reason why this vehicle shouldn’t be a global sales success.
Then, former-President Joe Biden gave the Volvo a reason why it wouldn’t be a sales success: He attached a 100 percent tariff on all-electric vehicles coming from China. With Volvo’s parent Geely manufacturing the EX30 in China, the value proposition quickly vanished. Fortunately for Volvo, there is a production facility in Ghent, Belgium, that can pick up the slack for export to the United States. The plant currently builds the EC40 and XC40 Recharge, so adding another battery-electric vehicle shouldn’t take too much time.
Why do I care? Because the EX30 I was the most excited about wasn’t the street-focused standard model but the off-the-beaten-path-but-not-really-off-road Cross Country variant.
