Volvo set to preview XC90’s replacement before year-end

Uncovered in a series of patent images last month, Volvo has reportedly confirmed that the replacement for the XC90 will become a reality in the final quarter of next year.

Tipped to be called EXC90, the newcomer will derive motivation solely from an electric powertrain and debut on the marque’s brand-new Scalable Production Architecture (SPA) platform called SPA2.

A foundation that will provide the basis for all of the brand’s next generation 60 and 90 models, the layout as been designed from the onset to accommodate an electric powerunit, as well as internal combustion motivation, though chances are the latter will be phased out quickly in readiness for the brand becoming an all-electric manufacturer by 2030.

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“It will be born electric, so there will be none of the compromises that come when you make a combustion car an EV. That means we don’t have to worry about where the engine and exhaust system will go,” Volvo President and CEO, Håkan Samuelsson, told Automotive News last year.

In confirming the XC90/EXC90’s reveal, Volvo UK CEO, Jim Rowan, told Britain’s Autocar that the newcomer will a play a massive part in upping its wholly electric vehicle sales figure to 600 000 units by 2025.

“It’s a very exciting time for us because it takes us into another sphere – it’s another building block towards the future. That model itself is an extremely important vehicle for us,” the executive said.

Poised to be the first Volvo to feature a LiDAR-based autonomous driving system, the XC90/EXC90 will draw styling inspiration not only from last year’s Recharge Concept, but as evident by the patent images, from all-electric sister brand Polestar’s current vehicle range.

Potentially on track to displace the current XC90 T8 Recharge as the brand’s most powerful electric model, the XC90/EXC90 will continue to put practically and space on its list of core ingredient, with Samuelsson telling Automotive News, “It will have a high seating position, good visibility and you’ll drive around without having a guilty conscience because you will be driving electric”.

A preview of the new XC90, which Volvo states will be switch from a large SUV to a smaller almost crossover-type model, is expected later this year before the commencing of sales in 2023.