Volvo recently issued a global safety notice for the electric Volvo EX30 due to the electric crossover potentially catching fire from a defect in the battery cells modules that could cause it to overheat.
It was initially reported that the batteries were manufactured by Sunwoda but the company has now stated that is not the case… well sort of.
A report by Car News China states that Sunwoda Electronic Co. Chairman, Wang Wei, stepped up to address the rumours. He said that the online reports linking the company directly as the manufacturer of the batteries are inaccurate.
“The battery packs were actually provided by factories within Volvo’s own system,” explained Wang. He went on to further clarify that the battery packs were not directly supplied by Sunwoda.
Instead, the battery cells were manufactured by Shandong Geely Sunwoda Co., Ltd, a joint venture between Geely and Sunwoda, of which the latter only holds a minority 30% stake in.
Furthermore, Sunwoda officials confirmed that the transaction involving the recalled EX30 batteries is unrelated to Sunwoda Power. While the joint venture manufactured the cells, it was then supplied to Volvo’s own battery system provider that assembled the units into battery packs for EVs.
That battery system provider is Viridi E-Mobility Technology (Ningbo) Co., Ltd., a Geely subsidiary, that designs and manufactures the battery pack design, battery management system, thermal management and structural components.
However, Viridi has filed a lawsuit against Sunwoda for 2.31 billion yuan (~RM1.34 billion) in damages for allegedly supplying defective battery cells to them. It remains to be seen how everything plays out in the courts for now.
The global recall affects 33,777 units of the EX30. According to the carmaker, only 0.02% of the battery cells were overheating. In Brazil, an EX30 caught fire in a dealership back in November 2025, raising concerns regarding the model.
Volvo notice in Brazil mentions that the manufacturing defects in the battery cells could lead to internal short circuits and potentially ignite.
Here in Malaysia, Volvo Car Malaysia (VCM) has issued a safety notice not amounting to a recall for the EX30, specifically certain units of the Single Motor Extended Range and Twin Motor Performance models produced and sold between 2024 and 2025.
For now, VCM has advised owners to now charge their EX30s beyond a 70% state of charge and to set the limit accordingly within the vehicle settings menu to prevent accidentally going over that limit as well.
