Open secret confirmed: Incoming Volvo EX90 will be electric only

With the wraps due to come off tomorrow afternoon (9 November) at 16h00, Volvo has provided a final snippet of information regarding the drivetrain of the EX90.

While already known to be the initiator of the new electric vehicle optimised Scalable Production Architecture (SPA) platform called SPA2, the tiny titbit confirms the sole availability of an electric powerunit as evident by a recent teasers of the front facia sporting a sealed grille similar to the P6 Recharge and P8 Recharge versions of the XC40.

Teased under the heading “born electric and defined by software”, the new platform will retain the most prominent aspect of the XC90 in the shape of seven-seats and, as evident by leaked patent images in August, a similar overall silhouette.

It’s interior also previewed by way of a teaser of the dashboard last month, what is also expected is the new LiDAR autonomous driving system housed within a module situated inside the cabin behind the windscreen.

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Consisting of 16 ultrasonic sensors, eight cameras, five radars and software developed in-house by Volvo, the system can scan the road ahead and detect pedestrians walking up to 250 metres way, in addition to identifying objects at night from a distance of 120 metres.

“It’s the car’s eyes, and while you could have them around the grille area, which would be equivalent to having eyes on your knees, it makes much more sense to have them as high as possible on your head so you can see as much as possible,” Volvo Head of Design, T. Jon Mayer, said

“That is why, together with our engineers, we decided to integrate it in the roofline to maximise its effectiveness. It was a design challenge to integrate lidar in a way that both looks good and is optimal for its safety applications.”

Additionally teased in a pair of blurred images less than a week ago, the announcement of the electric powerunit also hints at not only an improved range, but potentially more power than the 340kW/709Nm made by the outgoing XC90 T8 Recharge.

Given the barrage of already released infotainment and images, don’t expect anymore to be divulged before tomorrow when Volvo reveals the final product in full.