The Volvo EX90, An All-Electric Replacement For The XC90, Will Be Unveiled On November 9

Volvo is developing an electric version of its popular XC90 SUV and revealed the vehicle’s basic specifications and release date on November 7. The new SUV, designated EX90, will ride on an updated version of the SPA platform found under the XC90, appropriately termed SPA2. The framework was designed from the ground up to support electric vehicles, but it may also work with internal combustion engines in a hybrid setup.

In addition to its eight cameras, five radar sensors, and sixteen ultrasonic sensors, the EX90 will also have a lidar sensor positioned on its top. Volvo estimates that with this combination plus their driver-assist features, accidents that cause serious injury or death may be reduced by as much as 20%, and accidents overall might be reduced by as much as 9%.

A driver monitor is an added safety precaution that looks for signs of distraction to help lower accident risk. For example, if the driver of the EX90 becomes sick or falls asleep, the vehicle will come to a safe stop. The high level of autonomous functioning certified by Volvo is impressive. The EX90 will have a new experience pilot feature that will make it possible to drive completely hands-free and close your eyes on some roads. Although California has been identified as the key market, the release date for Experience Pilot is unclear.

Volvo’s patent designs submitted to the European Union’s Mental Safety Office in July corroborate the teaser images and video, suggesting that the XC90 will have a similar external appearance. However, according to the patents, the SUV will be shorter & longer than the XC90.

Gross sales of the EX90 are expected to start in 2023. Volvo’s factory in Charleston, South Carolina, will handle production for North America and other regions. The S60 sedan is now manufactured at the export facility, but beginning in the following year, the EX90 and a related Polestar 3 SUV will also be produced there.

Sales of the XC90 are still very near to record levels for the nameplate, even with the impending release of the EX90. A record-breaking 38,657 Volvo XC90s were sold in the United States last year, making it the greatest year ever for the model in the United States and the second-best year ever for the XC90 overall.

The XC90 will likely continue to sell after the EX90 is released. In an article published Monday, Stephen Connor, president of Volvo’s Australian branch, told Drive that the company plans to release two additional electric cars in reasonably fast succession.

One is an electric crossover similar in size to the Volvo XC40 compact crossover, and the other will be a sedan, which Drive predicts would be a mid-size sedan competing with the Volvo S90. We anticipate both to occur by the year’s end of 2024.

The XC40 and the C40 Recharge are Volvo’s smallest vehicles currently available. Nonetheless, Volvo’s ex-CEO Hakan Samuelsson revealed at the C40 Recharge’s debut that the brand was working on a sub-40 series car.

Volvo has trademarked the moniker “EX30” for the upcoming compact crossover. Typically, Geely, the parent company of Volvo, uses its SEA modular EV platform for its new vehicles. The 001 sporty sedans from fellow Geely company Zeekr debuted on this platform last year, and it has an 800-volt electrical system for rapid charging.