Later in the year, Volvo will introduce the third generation of the XC90, the largest SUV in its lineup. The Swedish SUV, which will become 100% electric, will coexist for the first time with a larger model, the Embla crossover (formerly known as the XC100). Thus, Volvo will cover segments E (executive) and F (representation).
Thanks to a leak from the European Patent Office, we can confirm that the commercial name of the vehicle will change to reflect its new electric nature, as it will be called EXC90. Until now, Volvo added the surname Recharge to its models (XC40, C40) to differentiate its electric and plug-in hybrid versions from the thermal ones; However, it seems that to avoid confusion between BEV and PHEV, the electric ones will finally add an initial E to their name.
The final design of the vehicle has also been completely leaked. Although its proportions will be relatively continuous, several changes will differentiate it from its predecessor. For starters, the characteristic ‘Thor’s hammer’ headlamps will now be much slimmer, while the grille will be completely blanked out.
The sideline will be somewhat more stylized, while the doors will include recessed handles to improve aerodynamics. The pilots, for their part, will be “deconstructed”, because while their lower section will adopt an aspect similar to that seen in the Polestar 2 (two C-shaped light groups joined together across the width of the gate), there will also be an upper module of vertical design integrated into the moon.
The Volvo EXC90 will be presented at the end of 2022
In the passenger compartment, the use of a dashboard with the central screen in portrait format and some aerators that will occupy the entire width of the board should be highlighted. The center console, floating type, will include numerous storage compartments. The steering wheel will have three spokes and there will be a Head-up Display to improve the display of information.
The Volvo EXC90 will sit on the SPA2 modular platform. Among other advances, it will have an 800-volt electrical system, which should allow it to offer very competitive charging times. Its autonomy will probably exceed 600 km under the WLTP homologation cycle. In addition, it will include a Luminar LiDAR sensor as standard.
“We are on a good way. We have committed to launching a certain number of vehicles each year, and we will make the decision on when we will launch it, but the fourth quarter of this year is when we will release more details about this product. It’s a very exciting time for us because it takes us into another realm: it’s another building block into the future. That model itself is an extremely important vehicle for us,” Jim Rowan, Volvo CEO, recently explained.
