Volvo revises its product roadmap

Volvo Cars has presented its revised product plans to its North American dealers after the brand recently dropped its goal of becoming an all-electric car manufacturer by 2030. Accordingly, Volvo plans to launch ten new or updated models within two years.

As Automotive News writes with reference to the dealer meeting, several of these ten models are fully electric. The ES90 electric sedan is set to launch in 2025 and will be built both in China and in Torslanda, Sweden. The EX60 electric mid-size SUV is expected to follow in 2026. Volvo Cars is also planning a series of plug-in hybrids with increased electric range over the next two years. Also mild hybrids.

The background to the revised product roadmap is Volvo’s cancellation earlier this month of its 2021 goal of becoming a pure electric car manufacturer by 2030. Instead, the Geely subsidiary is now aiming to achieve between 90 and 100 per cent of its sales with electric cars and plug-in hybrids by 2030. According to Volvo, the BEV-only target has been cancelled due to “changing market conditions and customer requirements.”

Volvo Cars intends to stick to its long-term goal of “full electrification” and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. However, according to the new interim target for 2030, the current and future development budgets will not be invested purely in electric cars, however, plug-in and mild hybrid vehicles will also be continuously developed.

A concrete example of this: the all-electric flagship EX90, which was recently available for initial tests and is due to be delivered to the first customers this month, will be accompanied by a facelift of the previous XC90. The XC90 has received a number of technology and design updates. Mild and plug-in hybrids are available for the drive system – the latter has a pure electric range of 70 kilometres according to WLTP. The Volvo XC90 T8 AWD plug-in hybrid is available in Germany from 87,490 euros.

The development of purely electric cars is also continuing and accelerating: Volvo recently presented a so-called ‘Volvo Cars Superset’, a modular construction kit for systems, modules, software and hardware. This development logic is already being used for the EX90. Instead of developing individual models in isolation, the ‘Superset’ itself is to be continuously developed further – different components from the package are then used depending on the model. For example, the work on the EX90 will also benefit the upcoming ES90 sedan – the experience gained from the ES90 will then flow back into the EX60 mid-size SUV. Until now, the three models would have been developed in parallel but separately.

One concrete effect: the EX90 uses the SPA2 (Scalable Product Architecture 2) platform, after the first SPA generation was introduced in 2014 with the XC90. The EX60, however, which is planned for 2026 according to Automotive News, will already use SPA3. According to Volvo, the SPA3 will offer increased core computing power and greater scalability. “This means that, if we wanted, we could continuously develop and build cars of all sizes – larger than the EX90 and smaller than the EX30 – using the same technology base. The modularity and upgradeability of SPA3 will allow for lower investment costs – with lower variance as well – in relation to sales, which in turn should lead to a stronger future cash flow,” the company said in a press release earlier this month. The main plant in Torslanda is already being prepared for SPA3 production.

Finally, let’s take another look at North America: according to Automotive News, US sales of Volvo’s first-generation electric models fell by 74 per cent to 1,981 vehicles in the first half of the year, while sales of plug-in hybrids rose by 75 per cent.

Thanks to hybrids, sales there and elsewhere are set to pick up again soon. “We’re making sure that we’re [going to] keep the mild hybrid and the plug-in hybrid technology competitive and in the range until 2030 and beyond, if need be,” said Bjorn Annwall, Chief Commercial Officer at Volvo. The plug-in hybrids are to receive a ‘significant upgrade’ compared to the electric range of the XC90.

autonews.com