Standout electric car axed in Australia: Rival to the Audi Q4 e-tron, BMW iX2, Cupra Tavascan and Volkswagen ID.5 departs after just a few years

Volvo is discontinuing one of its electric SUVs in Australia, after only a few years on sale.

The Swedish-Chinese carmaker has confirmed it’s no longer bringing in any shipments of its C40 Recharge battery-electric ‘coupe’ SUV to Australia. There’s only dealer stock remaining.

“Volvo Cars finds itself in an enviable position of being able to adjust to market and consumer demands,” said a Volvo Car Australia spokesperson.

“We constantly evaluate our model/variant line-up and how they fit into the local business equation.

“With the introduction of the EX30 and also an EX40 our belief is we have adequate cover in that segment.

“This provides us and our business partners with greater focus.”

The C40 Recharge is being discontinued in Australia, but will live on in other markets.

The Volvo C40 Recharge was launched in Australia in 2022 and is a ‘coupe’ SUV alternative to the XC40 Recharge (now EX40).

It received a number of minor updates over the years, including one that transformed the entry-level single-motor variant from front-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive.

Two variants of the C40 Recharge are offered in Australia: the entry-level single-motor variant, as well as the flagship dual-motor all-wheel-drive Twin variant.

Pricing is currently listed at $78,990 before on-roads for the entry-level C40 Recharge, and $87,990 before on-roads for the C40 Recharge Twin.

This is between $2000 and $6000 more expensive, depending on the variant, than the corresponding EX40 model.

Despite still being relatively fresh to the Australian new car market, it was Volvo’s slowest selling SUV during 2024.

Only 560 examples of the C40 Recharge were sold in Australia last year. For context, 3142 examples of the XC40 (including petrol and electric variants) were sold over the same period of time.

Additionally, there were 2129 examples of the newly introduced EX30 small electric SUV sold in Australia last year.

So far in 2025, Volvo as a brand is experiencing a downturn in Australian sales. In the first four months of the year, a total of 2308 cars have been sold, which is down 11.8 per cent year-on-year.

Volvo currently offers four electric SUVs in Australia, including the C40 Recharge. These include the EX30, EX40, as well as the recently introduced EX90 flagship SUV.

It also offers the XC40, XC60, XC90, S60 and V60 Cross Country internal-combustion models.

A new XC70 plug-in hybrid SUV was recently revealed, but for now it’s set to be a Chinese-market only model.