Volvo to upgrade XC90’s looks despite looming phase out in EV shift
Volvo will preserve bettering the looks of its XC90 as it continues building its flagship SUV in Sweden even right after its vary-topping, electric powered-only successor begins rolling off the line of the automaker’s U.S. plant later this calendar year.
“That is an advantage of setting up the new just one in Charleston [South Carolina],” Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson informed Automotive Information Europe. “Why should we shut down the old 1 in Torslanda when you nevertheless have a market for hybrids, primarily in America and China.”
The XC90, Volvo’s No. 3-vendor globally previous year, with quantity up 17 p.c to 108,231, is presented with a variety of powertrains, which includes a plug-in hybrid variant that provides around 50 km of electric powered-only driving in blend with a gasoline engine.
Volvo, which programs to be an electrical only brand by 2030, has reported its upcoming battery-pushed model, anticipated to be identified as the Embla, will turn into its new flagship.
Samuelsson mentioned Volvo will go on developing the 2nd-era XC90, which debuted in 2014 and was the 1st all-new design from Volvo right after Zhejiang Geely Holding bought the organization from Ford Motor in 2010.
“We will even seem into upgrading it so it appears to be like a bit greater,” Samuelsson additional. “But, technological know-how clever, we will devote in the new era of all-electrical vehicles.”
Volvo very last week introduced a $1.1 billion financial commitment at Torslanda, where the XC90 and XC60 SUVs are built, to get ready the plant to produce a new era of EVs that the automaker suggests will offer you superior range and more rapidly charging instances at a reduced price tag.
Volvo wants half of its international sales — an believed 600,000 units — to be battery run by 2025. To make the changeover Volvo has declared investments in the last two yrs totaling far more than $4 billion (see chart, beneath).
