EX30 wins Australian Good Design Award

Volvo Car Australia last week collected its first local award for the new EX30, winning Good Design Australia’s Automotive Design Award – Best Interior Design.

“Good Design Australia commends Volvo for redefining the future of interior design with the EX30, where cutting-edge innovation and sustainability converge,” said Rachel Wye, Managing Director of Good Design Australia.

The judging panel was equally effusive:

“With its longer wheelbase, the jury was impressed by the proportions of its interior spaces. This small car is big on little details, including five different lighting themes and the rationalisation of multiple functions into single controls,” they stated. “It is a masterclass in streamline and simplification, with good use of several recycled and renewable materials.”

The Good Design Australia team asked Volvo Cars Senior Manager of Design, Color & Material, Rekha Meena, about the standout elements and thinking that went into designing the EX30’s award-winning interior.

“The EX30 brief was that it should be the most sustainable Volvo car to date – small but mighty. Even though dimensions of the car were small, we never wanted customers to feel small, rather, they should be surrounded by a Scandinavian premium vast experience. Our innovative approach to materials in the Volvo EX30 plays an integral role in helping to reduce our carbon footprint,” she said.

The response was to design four different internal ‘rooms’ – Mist, Pine, Breeze, and Indigo – each with its own characteristics. Each room comes with five Scandinavian-inspired ambient themes – Archipelago, Northern lights, Midsummer, Nordic twilight and Forest bath. These provide a coloured ambient light and sound experience to the cabin.

The EX30 also embraces a high level of recycled materials used both internally and externally, including recycled denim and polyester.

“If it’s from the recycled world, the feel and look should be honest, not trying to hide it,” said Meena, though she admits that landing on which fabrics, plastics and metals to incorporate required significant work.

“Our biggest challenge [lay] in pinpointing which reclaimed materials to use inside a car and finding options that meet our stringent test parameters for durability while also being perceived by consumers as premium,” added Meena.

“Outside of denim, we’ve used a range of recycled and renewable materials for the seats, doors, and dashboard of the Volvo EX30, including flax and a wool-blend that contains around 70 per cent recycled polyester. We designed this car during Covid travel restrictions, and we are proud to have achieved 17 per cent recycled/natural content, 17 per cent recycled steel, and 25 per cent recycled aluminium for the EX30.”

The Volvo EX30 has now picked up more than 20 awards internationally since launch last year, some before it even hit the road.

These include the prestigious Red Dot award: Best of the Best Product Design 2024, The Sun Car of the Year, World Urban Car from World Car of the Year, the Small SUV/Crossover of the Year award from the Sunday Times, and the Eco Warrior of the Year award from Top Gear magazine, plus many more from around the world.

The smallest SUV Volvo has ever launched, the EX30 is built on a purpose-designed electric car platform. In addition to producing zero tailpipe emissions, it has been developed with a focus on keeping its carbon footprint to a minimum across the car’s complete lifecycle.

The twin motor version is also the quickest car Volvo has ever built, covering 0-100km/h in 3.6 seconds.

More sedate driving will maximise driving range, with up to 476km* achievable on a single charge. Using high-powered public chargers, the EX30 can be recharged from 10 to 80 per cent capacity in a little over 25 minutes**.

Discover the multi award-winning Volvo EX30 here, or speak to your local retailer.

*The figures are preliminary and derived from estimates and calculations performed by Volvo Cars for EX30 which is not carried out on every individual vehicle sold by Volvo and these outcomes are not guaranteed. The real-life driving range and energy consumption achieved under real conditions varies depending on factors including but not limited to driving style, road and traffic conditions, environmental influences, vehicle condition and accessories fitted, means in the real world the range you experience can differ from that advertised. Advertised figures are meant for comparison purposes. Vehicle certification pending.

**Typical time to charge from 10 to 80% with 175kW DC fast charging (CCS2) under optimal charging conditions.