It looks like an electric successor to the S90 is on its way. Volvo released a shadowy video of its ES90, the brand’s first electric saloon that’s due out next year. It will rival the BMW i5, Audi A6 e-tron and Mercedes-Benz EQE.
Volvo previewed the vehicle at a Swedish event marking the first deliveries of the EX90 electric SUV and the announcement of a refreshed XC90. While the images are dark, design cues indicate EX90 influences.
Few details are known as yet but the ES90 is thought to share the Volvo-developed bespoke electric platform with the EX90.
What’s clear is that the ES90 is around five metres in length and will come in single-motor rear-drive and dual-motor AWD guises. It will employ the same 111kWh (107kWh usable) battery pack as the EX90. Expect at least 640km of range.
Production will be out of a Geely plant in China with a focus on that market. However, Volvo will also sell it in other countries as a low-volume flagship model.
It is due for official release next year. And the name indicates it will be the electric replacement for the S90 saloon, now out of production.
From the teaser video, images indicate a wind-cheating profile, with steeply raked screens front and rear, and a fastback-style roofline. A small nodule at the top of the windscreen suggests it will feature LiDAR technology like on the EX90 seven-seat SUV.
We presume it will ride on the same SPA2 platform as the EX90.
The ES90 is one of five new electric models under development at Volvo. With the slight change in emphasis, by the end of this decade Volvo is aiming for at least 90 per cent of global sales to be electric and plug-in hybrid cars. The remainder will be mild hybrids.
“We are resolute in our belief that our future is electric,” said Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan.
