- Volvo teases an all-electric sedan (or liftback) called the ES90
- Chances are high it will share much with the EX90
- Furthering the EV lineup are strong hints about the upcoming EX60, supposedly a two-row crossover
As part of the new XC90 soirée yesterday across the pond, Volvo teased a new vehicle they are calling the ES90. While details were scant, there are plenty of clues as to what the machine could be when it rolls off the assembly line in due course.
With a shadowy teaser video starting with a typically artsy wooden beam as part of a balance scale, the camera pans over dark lines of a vehicle with distinctly sedan-like proportions. A long hood gives way to a two-box cabin, ending with a trunk which could very well be a liftback in the style of an Audi A6 or, more appropriately, the Tesla Model S.
Why is the Model S more appropriate? Because there’s every chance in the world the ES90 will be an all-electric five-seat car. Volvo naming conventions suggest ‘E’ is electric and ‘S’ is sedan (see vehicles like the EX90/EX30 and S90/S60 for reference), with the digits indicating it will be a large vehicle, perhaps even a halo car sitting atop the line. It seems, then, that Volvo will be using ‘EX’ for its electric crossovers and ‘ES’ for its EV sedans.
Introducing such a vehicle on the heels of the EX90 makes a lot of sense, since both machines are likely to share a platform and all-electric powertrain. Companies do this regularly to defray costs and spread investment out over a number of models. Allegedly, it is even easier to do so with electric cars since they are often built on so-called skateboard platforms, sometimes with modular batteries whose cells can be adapted for scale.
As a reminder, the new EX90 is a large three-row crossover with up to 510 horsepower and 671 lb-ft of torque. Volvo says to expect nearly 500 kilometres of all-electric range depending on options from the EX90 battery pack which has 111-kWh of capacity. Lifting these items’ body and bones to a sedan-like platform would bring heavy competition to vehicles like the aforementioned Tesla Model S, certain trims of the Lucid Air, and — perhaps ironically — the Polestar 2 which is an is-but-isn’t member of the same Swedish household.
Furthering the range (pun firmly intended) are strong hints about the upcoming EX60, likely to take the form of an all-electric two-row crossover occupying roughly the same footprint as the very popular XC60. Deputy CEO Björn Annwall is quoted as saying the model will serve as a ‘huge boost’ to the brand’s EV ambitions. When it appears, it will likely be a big piece of the product puzzle not just in terms of sales but also in terms of its platform which is likely to be shared with a raft of other EVs.
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