With the introduction of the fully electric XC40 SUV later this month, Volvo Cars says it is launching not just its first fully electric car but also one of the safest cars on the road.

While building on the high safety standards of the original XC40, the company’s safety engineers had to completely redesign and reinforce the frontal structure to deal with the absence of an engine.

To help keep the occupants safe and the battery intact in the event of a collision, they developed a new safety structure.

The battery is protected by a safety cage consisting of a frame of extruded aluminium that has been embedded in the middle of the car’s body structure, creating a crumple zone around the battery.

Locating the battery in the floor of the car also has the benefit of lowering the centre of gravity of the car (for enhanced stability).

Meanwhile, the car’s body structure has been reinforced not just in the front but also at the rear.

Here, the electric powertrain has been integrated into the body structure to achieve a better distribution of collision forces away from the cabin and “reduce the strain on people inside the car”.

In terms of active safety systems, the battery-powered XC40 is the first Volvo model to be equipped with a new Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) sensor platform with software developed by Zenuity, the joint-venture company owned by Volvo Cars and Veoneer.

ADAS is a scalable active safety system that consists of an array of radars, cameras and ultrasonic sensors.

Because of its scalable nature, it can easily be developed further, and it lays the foundation for the future introduction of autonomous drive technology.

The fully electric XC40 will be first shown to the public on 16 October.