Volvo reveals three new electric cars, but estates are not part of future plans

Volvo rows back on its all-electric promises with the launch of a new hybrid, but no sign of any new estates

Steve Fowler

Motoring critic

Tuesday 17 September 2024 12:44 BST

11Comments

The new all-electric Volvo XC90 will go on sale later this year (Volvo)

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Volvo CEO Jim Rowan has revealed a raft of new models at Volvo’s 90/90 day at the newly opened World of Volvo centre in the company’s hometown of Gothenburg, but they didn’t include any Volvo estates.

A facelifted XC90 model with a revised front end and new grille treatment was first out of the blocks, sitting alongside the new all-electric EX90 SUV that will reach first customers later this month.

The new XC90 will go on sale next year featuring a revised interior with 11.5-inch touchscreen and more comfortable suspension. The plug-in and mild hybrid engines will remain unchanged.

Rowan also gave a sneak peek of the new ES90 saloon, expected to be unveiled early next year and featuring much of the EX90’s tech. That means a length of around five meters is likely and battery power from the same 111kWh battery used in the EX90; in the more slippery saloon it should offer a range of close to 400 miles. Single- and twin-motor versions are also expected to be offered.

“There is still a demand for premium sedans and that’s in the electric age,” said Rowan, “And so we thought that would be a good place to be.

“We see much more of that demand in China than we do in other parts of the world, but there’s still demand in other parts of the world for that particular class of car.”

Sadly, there’s no sign of an EV90 estate car, in spite of Volvo giving its existing estate range a stay of execution in the UK. They’re not part of any future planning, according to Rowan.

Volvo has confirmed the arrival of an all-electric EX60 model to sit alongside the best-selling XC60, that should arrive in 2026.

The new Volvo XC90 was revealed at 90/90 day at World of Volvo (Volvo)

The EX60 will also feature the latest SPA3 platform tech, a development of Volvo’s Superset technology stack, using tech from Nvidia, Snapdragon and Qualcomm, that controls all the car’s systems and debuted in the EX90.

With Volvo rowing back from its original aim of only selling electric cars by 2030, both the XC90 and XC60 are likely to soldier on, offering plug-in and mild hybrid tech beyond that date. Volvo now says that it’s aiming to be “around 90 per cent electric” by 2030, allowing some breathing space to continue selling ICE cars due to market demand.