Volvo Cars’ production of electric cars does not compromise on safety. The company should always be a world leader. In the event of an accident, both the passengers and batteries are effectively protected.

“For us, electrification technology is an additional exciting challenge in our quest to build the safest cars on the market,” notes Thomas Broberg, Volvo Cars’ safety expert.

Electrification entails the greatest change for the car since its invention – and in essentially all areas. From a safety perspective, the car’s 400-volt battery pack raises a number of issues that must be systematically considered.

Volvo C30 Electric Film

One basic demand that Volvo Cars must meet is that safety functions as well in practice as it does in the laboratory. One of the company’s strengths is its solid expertise in how cars perform in real accidents. Accordingly, the company imposes strict requirements on its electric cars, which extend far beyond legislated stipulations.

At the Detroit International Auto Show in 2011, Volvo Cars proudly displayed a crashed C30 Electric. The vehicle had undergone a frontal collision test at 64 km/h.  The batteries and crash dummies remained undamaged.

Volvo Car's safety approach to electric cars focuses on battery safety in the event of a collision. In everyday use, an extensive and advanced monitoring system checks that each cell has the right voltage and ensures, by means of cooling, that the cell’s working temperature is optimal, an important feature for safety and working capacity. In the event of any deviation, the battery is automatically shut off for preventive reasons.

Volvo Cars’ safety approach also encompasses events after a collision. A heaver collision triggers the crash sensor in the airbag to automatically cut the power so that the car is safe for rescue personnel and passengers. Volvo has close cooperation with the rescue services, which have detailed instructions as to how they can most safely handle various Volvo cars in the event of an accident.