Volvo XC90: Another generation confirmed for popular large SUV

Once slated to be replaced by the all-electric EX90, CEO Håkan Samuelsson has confirmed the Volvo XC90 will enter a third generation.

During the company’s latest call with investors, the CEO was asked about speculation Volvo would build the XC90 in its Charleston, South Carolina plant in the US from 2028.

Given the current car was launched back in 2015, Mr Samuelsson stated “one day we will need a new XC90”. Unfortunately the CEO didn’t provide any further details, simply stating “there will be more speculation about that before we can say anything more concrete”.

For most markets the XC90 is built in Torslanda, Sweden. At present the Charleston plant builds the EX90 and Polestar 3. The XC60, Volvo’s most popular model, will be added to the South Carolina factory by the end of 2026.

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The XC90 is no stranger to longer-than-normal lifecycles. The first-generation model (above) launched in 2002, and it took until 2015 before the second-generation version began trundling down the production line.

It has since received two facelifts, the first in 2019, and the most recent in 2024. The current facelift is more substantial with a new bonnet, headlights, grille, bumpers, tail-lights, and a dashboard tweaked to incorporate a larger touchscreen.

Volvo had hoped this facelift would see the vehicle through to 2030 when the company planned to discontinue production of all cars with internal combustion engines (ICE).

The XC90’s electric equivalent and eventual successor, the EX90 (below), was revealed in 2022, but didn’t enter production until 2024 due to a software issues. According to Mr Samuelsson, production of the EX90 is now ramping up after “considerable improvements of the software quality”.

The company made the commitment to go EV-only in 2021. According to Mr Samuelsson “the electric market is not growing as fast as we thought some years ago, but it’s still growing”. As such, Volvo has subsequently revised its target, hoping to have electrified vehicles – plug-in hybrid and full electric – account for 90 per cent of global sales by 2030.

With the petrol engine’s sunset pushed off to 2035 or later, in May Volvo launched its first new non-EV model in years: the reborn XC70.

Based on Geely’s Scalable Modular Architecture (SMA), the XC70 is a long range plug-in hybrid with either a 22kWh or 40kWh battery.

It was developed in China as part of Volvo’s plan to give its China, Europe and US arms more autonomy. The XC70 (below) is currently only slated for sale in China, but the company has left the door ajar for sales elsewhere stating it will consider “potential additional markets at a later stage”.

In the call with investors, Mr Samuelsson noted long-range plug-in hybrids as a pragmatic solution “that we will need for some more years than we thought”.

He also noted such drivetrains were “something European consumers will want to have in the future”, and that Volvo was “looking at various possibilities to be in that market segment”.

We don’t know if he’s referring to the new XC70 specifically, or, possibly, hinting the new XC90 will also go down this path.

Given the company’s need to satisfy Europe’s tightening emissions rules, as well as appeal to Chinese consumers who have a growing appetite for long-range plug-in hybrids and extended range electric vehicles (EREV), it seems likely the third-generation XC90 will follow the XC70’s template.

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