Volvo wants to take its safety image into electric car era

Amid the glitz and chrome of the Detroit auto show, Volvo took the opportunity to show the crushed metal and broken glass of one of its prototype C30 extended-range plug-in electric coupes. The display for the brand that has built an image on safety features showed it intends to leverage that image into the electric car era.

New CEO Stefan Jacoby showed the car, which had gone through a frontal offset crash at 40 mph (64 kph) at a press conference today. Volvo was trying to graphically make the point that electric cars pose new safety issues and that Volvo is on the case. "We are the first carmaker in the world to show what a truly safe electric car looks like after a crash," said Jacoby.

Volvo's display of the crashed C30 electric sedan at the Detroit auto show.
CAPTIONBy Stan Honda, AFP/Getty ImagesJacoby pointed out that critical components, including the center-mounted battery pack, were intact, which is important not only for the occupants, but also emergency responders. He said he wanted to show that Volvo was putting a priority on safety, even as other makers with electrics here were spending more time talking about driving range, charge time, price, etc.

Said Jacoby, "Few manufacturers have focused on the safety aspect. This is going to change here and now."

Field testing of the C30 plug-in will begin in Sweden this summer. The car will be available in Europe in 2012 and in the U.S the following year, Jacoby said.