Volvo has increased the range and power for its C40 and XC40 Recharge pure electric models with immediate effect.

The higher-range C40 and XC40 Recharge are available to order now

The changes, revealed in the carmaker’s online configurator tool, apply to all new orders from December onwards and follow changes to the electric powertrain.

A new larger battery is being fitted to dual-motor variants, increasing capacity from 78kWh to 82kWh. At the same time, the single-motor versions switch from front- to rear-wheel drive to increase efficiency.

As a result, range is boosted across all models. The C40 Recharge increases 24 miles to 296 miles from the previous 272, while the C40 Recharge Twin rises 38 miles to 316 miles from 278.

The XC40 Recharge now delivers an official 286 miles, up 22 miles from 264 miles before, while the XC40 Recharge Twin goes from 270 to 312 miles – the biggest increase of all at 42 miles.

Charging rate also increases for the dual-motor versions – up to 200kW from 150kW before. This cuts the time for a 10-80% battery charge from 37 to 27 minutes. The single-motor versions retain the same 150kW maximum charging rate as the outgoing versions, which also gives a 27-minute 10-80% charging time due to the smaller battery.

Other changes see the C40 Recharge and XC40 Recharge gain a more powerful electric motor, increasing power to 238hp from 231hp.

The dual-motor Recharge Twin versions get revised motors – now 163hp at the front and 245hp at the rear compared to 204hp front and rear before. But they retain the same 408hp output.

OTR prices for the C40 start from £48,355 for the Recharge Single Motor and £53,605 in Core specification. The XC40 models start from £46,505 and £51,755 respectively.

Production of the Recharge Twin versions starts in May 2023, while production of the Recharge variants starts in the autumn.