Originally set to debut in Malaysia this year, Volvo Car Malaysia (VCM) just revealed that the local launch of the Volvo XC40 Recharge EV has been pushed back to 2022. This is due to the extended COVID-19 lockdown in our country, along with the disruption of supply chain caused by the pandemic.

The delayed Malaysian launch of the XC40 Recharge EV is confirmed by VCM itself in an interview with Paultan.org. With a big backlog of orders to fulfill, the carmaker will “use all its capacity to make good the orders that are in hand, to reduce waiting time for customers,” as Paultan wrote.

That statement is particularly interesting: it seems to indicate that the XC40 Recharge EV will be locally assembled (CKD). If this is the case, it will be the first-ever EV to be assembled here in Malaysia.

Nonetheless, the XC40 Recharge EV is Volvo’s first mass-produced electric SUV, and it’s packed with a number of interesting features. According to the carmaker, the SUV has an all-electric range of 418km on a single charge, thanks to its 78kWh battery.

As for charging time, the XC40 Recharge EV can be charged up to 80% in only 40 minutes with a 150kW DC charging station (under ideal conditions). When charging at home instead, a three-phase 11kW wallbox can fully charge the XC40 in about eight hours from completely empty.

In terms of performance, the XC40 Recharge EV can go from 0-100km/h in only 4.9 seconds; this figure is highlighted on the product page of the SUV on Volvo Car Malaysia’s website. This suggests that the Malaysian market will at least receive the AWD variant, which gets 408PS and 660Nm of torque out of a dual-motor setup.

The Volvo XC40 Recharge EV will make its Malaysian debut sometime in 2022; no specific timeframe was given beyond this. In the meantime, you can still register your interest for the electric SUV over at VCM’s website.