Wake up Volvo, MG already made the world’s first electric station wagon
Forget the race to Mars, it’s the EV station wagon race that matters
Ode to station wagons
I’d like to make a controversial, yettrue, statement: station wagons are the thinking person’s choice.It’s the type of car you choose when you know you need some practicality, but recognize that buying something like an SUV is ostentatious and excessive.
Station wagons are also farsafer for pedestriansand other roads users than SUVs in the event of a crash.
The upsides of station wagons are only strengthened when we consider them as electric cars. Thanks to fewer drivetrain components, there’s even more space inside. There are no tailpipe emissions, that’s always a win. And because they’re lighter, and not as tall as electric SUVs, they should get better range too.
But becausewe’re all so obsessed with electric trucks and SUVs, surprisingly, it’s MG that gets to be the first to release an all-electric station wagon.
Why didn’t we have one already?
When someone says station wagon, there’s one brand that springs to mind: Volvo. Roomy family wagons were the Swedish marque’s bread and butter for decades.
Volvo been quite vocal about its transition to greener drivetrains, and is well known for its emphasis on safety. By 2025, the company wantshalf of its vehicle sales to be electric, and italready offers hybrid options across most of its range.
Station wagons are bought by people who actually think about what they’re buying before they buy it. They weigh up the pros and cons, consider space, their family, and their impact on the world around them.
If you ask me, it’s the perfect market to target an EV at — it’s a market Volvo has had in the palm of its hand for decades.
For that reason, I’m a loss as to why the Swedish marque hasn’t already made an all-electric station wagon. Everything was in place, it just had to put the bits together. Maybe Volvo didn’t even realize there was a race on to build the first EV station wagon.
But hey, we have MG now.
Do EVs excite your electrons? Do ebikes get your wheels spinning? Do self-driving cars get you all charged up?
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Story byMatthew Beedham
Matthew is the editor of SHIFT. He likes electric cars, and other things with wheels, wings, or hulls.Matthew is the editor of SHIFT. He likes electric cars, and other things with wheels, wings, or hulls.
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