Volvo EX30 faces recall over battery fire risk

Owners of the Volvo EX30 Extended Range have been urged not to charge their cars beyond 70% after discovery that a battery fault in some models poses a fire risk.

Volvo has identified a potential overheating problem with cells in the EX30 Single Motor Extended Range and Twin Motor Performance models built between 2024 and 2026.

It says the issue arises at high states of charge and in “worst-case” scenarios this could lead to a fire in the battery.

The Swedish car maker is in the process of issuing an official recall of the EX30 but, in the meantime, is asking owners not to charge their Extended Range models beyond 70%.

Volvo says that the problem is with cells from one particular supplier used in the 69kWh Extended Range and Performance models. The standard range Single Motor model with the smaller 51kWh battery is not affected. Other Volvo EVs are also unaffected by the issue.

Owners of affected cars can set a maximum charge level via the car’s touchscreen system or the Volvo Cars app. Volvo says that at 70% state of charge or below the risks are “significantly” reduced.

Volvo told EV Powered the number of reported incidents represented around 0.02% of all potentially affected vehicles. It added that there were no reports of injuries resulting from the fault. Around 34,000 cars in total are believed to be subject to the warning.

In a statement, the firm said: “Safety is a top priority for Volvo Cars, and while the number of reported incidents is very small, we are treating it very seriously.

“We plan to roll out a recall as soon as possible to fix the cars in question. In the meantime, we are contacting all affected owners to ask them to limit their cars’ maximum charge level to 70%. We will contact them again as soon as a fix is available.”