Maximum speed of 180 km / h at Volvo, an advantage for the electric?

It’s official: all Volvo vehicles will no longer be able to exceed 180 km / h. This restriction is accompanied by a device for setting additional limitations. Is this clamping an asset for the electric?

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He did it. Announced in March 2019, Volvo Cars has just fulfilled its promise to limit the speed of its entire range of vehicles to 180 km / h. This decision – radical for some – is part of the Vision 2020 program, launched in 2015 by the Swedish manufacturer (owned by the Chinese Geely), which provided “Neither dead nor seriously injured in a new Volvo by 2020”.

When Vision 2020 was launched, “Gaps” had been noted. The manufacturer had thus identified through various studies three risk factors that persist in terms of safety: excessive speed, alcohol and taking drugs while driving, without forgetting distraction (mobile phone). And all this despite the fact that Volvo vehicles are equipped with a battery of active and passive technologies and safety.

At the time, Håkan Samuelsson, President and CEO of Volvo Cars, said: “We now know, thanks to our research, what are the flaws in our ambition for 2020. And if limiting speed is not a miracle cure, a single saved life would be enough to make this initiative a success.” From words to deeds, there is only one step that Volvo has not hesitated to take, at the risk of losing a few customers.

To this clamping Volvo adds another device called Care Key, which allows owners to “Set additional limits on the maximum speed of the vehicle, for example before lending their vehicle to family members or to younger and inexperienced drivers”. Care Key is reminiscent of a similar system called MyKey from the manufacturer Ford. In addition to setting a maximum speed, MyKey sets a reminder for wearing a seat belt and limits the audio volume.

Honey or vinegar for the electric?

This limit of the maximum speed also concerns the electrified vehicles of the Swedish manufacturer and could be an asset vis-à-vis the thermal vehicles. Indeed, a traditional car is equipped with a gearbox so that to reach the maximum velocity without damaging the engine. On an electric vehicle, the engine delivers its maximum constant torque over a large range. Power is delivered to the wheels via a reducer. Result, you go from stopping at maximum speed with a snap of your fingers. The only exception is the Porsche Taycan, which has a two-speed gearbox to restart the machine beyond 150 km / h.

So, by limiting the speed to 180 km / h, traditional cars would lose their advantages over their electric counterparts because of their gearbox. These would be equal in terms of maximum velocity with the benefit of having constant acceleration. Finally, a limited speed on electric vehicles makes it possible to consume less and therefore go further.

Thought in the name of road safety, the speed limited to 180 km / h could also become an ecological argument for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles (plug-in or PHEV in English). It remains to be seen whether the general public will hear this argument and accept that it affects their freedom to drive, even if it is for their own good.

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