Safety in familiarity: 2024 Volvo EX30 safety credentials spruiked, but none of the features are actually new

Volvo’s latest teaser for the upcoming EX30 electric car focuses on its safety features, namely one that’s not exactly new.

A door opening alert included in the EX30 - something not new to Volvo nor the industry - is the highlight of the new electric small SUV according to the brand’s latest release.

"We have long had a focus on safety in city environments where cars share space with pedestrians and cyclists," said Åsa Haglund, Head of the Volvo Safety Centre. 

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"With the Volvo EX30 we are taking city safety to the next level, creating a small SUV that is your perfect companion for a comfortable driving experience, while it looks after you and other people on the busy streets of modern cities."

The ability to detect cyclists approaching from behind is also a few years old for Volvo, while even Audi had the tech for its A4 sedan as far back as 2016. Volvo has even had cyclist-detecting technology for its forward-facing autonomous emergency braking (AEB) as far back as a decade ago when it debuted the feature at the 2013 Geneva Motor show.

"As the leader in automotive safety, we have been first in the industry with all detection and auto brake technologies, from the first-generation brake support in 2006 to pedestrian detection with full auto brake in 2010," said Doug Speck, then Senior Vice President Marketing and Sales.

ANCAP will also even include ‘anti-dooring’ cyclist safety systems in its testing from 2023 in a round of new additions to its testing criteria.

Of any car brand, Volvo’s right to boast about safety is fairly secure, having been the one to allow engineer Nils Bohlin in the 1950s to develop the three-point seatbelt, which is now standard in pretty much every car on the planet.

The EX30 will appeal to a younger audience.

The EX30 will come with an advanced driver alert system as standard, too, called the Safe Space Technology suite, which also includes a sensor that “detects eye and face movements around 13 times per second” to check in on driver drowsiness.

The EX30’s debut is steadily approaching, with June 7 locked in as the date for its reveal.

While few details have been confirmed, it’s expected the model will ride on a smaller version of the SPA2 EV platform from the EX90, and use similar, if less powerful, drivetrains to the XC40 and C40 Recharge, which boast 69kWh batteries with the XC40 a range of 460km and a 175kW output.

The EX30 will come with an advanced driver alert system as standard.

Given the larger XC40 Recharge starts from $76,990 before on-road costs as of its latest update, Jim Rowan has indicated a much lower price point for the EX30 to appeal to a younger audience.

"We'd like to get some more young people into the brand, let's say, and that will be a really nice price point I think for an entry," said Rowan.

"Very safe, decent range, good size still, but small enough for it. We're going to talk to a completely different demographic for the first time and that younger demographic will probably be the ones who shop more online."