Volvo is launching its first electric saloon early next year, the premium ES90 flagship a tech showpiece for subsequent electric models.
Up against the likes of i5, Audi A6 e-tron and EQE, it is the emissions-free variant of the ICE-powered S90. It will disrobe in Stockholm next year. This global offering is also a close relative to its new EX90 electric SUV, and serves as a technological showpiece. Subsequent models like EX60, due out in 2026, will draw on it for tech and inspiration. Volvo is also working on three further EVs. The firm’s new electric platform, SPA3, will form the basis for an electric estate.
Where once Volvo was going all-EV, it is now delaying that and continuing with the sale of plug-in and mild-hybrid models. The firm is aiming for EV and PHEV models to account for at least 90 per cent of sales by 2030. The remainder will be mild hybrids.
Meantime, the ES90 will be the fifth series-production electric Volvo model and the first that isn’t an SUV. Volvo boss Jim Rowan said the firm will continue to offer a varied line-up. He said there is enough profit to justify launching an electric saloon, despite being only a small part of the market. Premium saloons are still sought after in some parts of the world.
The profile will resemble that of the existing S90 but it will also take styling cues from the EX90. Expect a closed-off grille, Thor’s hammer headlights and upright taillights.
The ES90 uses the same SPA2 platform as the EX90 and will be similar in a technical sense. It is 5m long, with a wheelbase of 3100mm. Volvo is planning to make single-motor rear-wheel drive and dual-motor all-wheel-drive versions. Power outputs for AWD models will be 300kW as standard and 380kW in Performance format.
A 111kWh battery means over 600km of range for the single-motor model. As with the EX90, the vehicle will be built around a ‘tech stack’. This includes all of the software and hardware for the drive, infotainment, autonomous functions and other systems. That set-up will be a feature on all future models and offers OTA updates.
EX60 will arrive hot on the heels of the ES90, and Volvo says it will be a “huge boost” in the firm’s electrification plans. It will debut the SPA3 platform, a heavy update of SPA2. This will integrate the computing software stack more completely but the important difference is that it is more scalable. Thus, it is appropriate for EX30 upwards to its biggest models. XC60 combustion models will undergo an update and will sell alongside EX60.
And EX60 builds will include megacasting, a process that Volvo is introducing at its main Gothenburg factory. Entire sections of cars will be cast as single parts. The rear floor section of the EX60 will be the first to benefit from it.
Little else is known about EX60 except it will come in single- and dual-motor forms, and use the same advanced infotainment system as the EX and ES90 models.
The arrival of the ES90 and EX60 will give Volvo six EVs in the European market. Three further models are under development, some in new segments. A single tech stack and platform allows different models to run on the same line, and permits “freedom to make the cars better”.
