Barely a week after confirming the car’s discontinuation in the U.S, Volvo has announced a facelift for the EX40, its oldest electric model. The modest update brings new styling, more power and a heat pump as standard.
The EX40 began life in 2019 as the XC40 Recharge, making it one of the earliest mass-market electric SUVs from a European premium brand. Its replacement, the rumoured EX50, is expected to arrive in late 2027. The current version, which is manufactured at the factory in Ghent, receives an update to bridge towards that launch.
New names
With the revised EX40, Volvo introduces a new naming strategy echoing the smaller Ex30. The variants are called P5 Electric, P5 Long Range and P8 Performance AWD. The entry-level rear-wheel-drive version now starts at €48.750 in Belgium, uses a 70 kWh battery and claims up to 477 kilometres on the WLTP cycle, ten kilometres more than before thanks to more efficient motors.
The Long Range version retains its 82 kWh pack and its maximum range of 576 kilometers, while the flagship dual-motor P8 Performance AWD now delivers 325 kW (442 hp), up from 300 kW.
All variants gain a standard heat pump for better consumption, a new design for the Thor Hammer headlights (always with Matrix LED technology) and a larger 11.2-inch central touchscreen with Google Gemini integration.
Volvo has also improved on the safety equipment, though no real innovations are added. An expanded sensor suite enables door-opening alerts for cyclists and an under emergency braking situations ana automatic steering assistant supports manoeuvring if necesssary. Volvo says production begins in November, with first deliveries expected by the end of 2026.
Future plan
For Belgium, the EX40 facelift carries weight well beyond the product itself. The model is built at Volvo’s Ghent plant, which also produces the V60 and EX30. The 40 family remains Volvo’s second-best-selling model line globally, but the successor will most likely be transferred to Volvo’s new factory in Košice, Slovakia. For Ghent, the model makes up the largest volume.
Final confirmation of product allocations is expected this Thursday when Volvo is unveiling its latest business direction at a live event in Stockholm. This should also shed important news about the future of the plant in Ghent. It is expected that the brand will unveil two new models.
Meanwhile, the EX40, along with its coupe variant EC40 and the entry-level EX30, has been withdrawn from the United States market. American dealers will sell only remaining stock until mid-2027, after which the EX60 becomes Volvo’s de facto entry-level EV. The EX40 is considered too old, too expensive and too compromised to compete.
