The next Volvo XC90 will get an electric car option.
The Volvo XC90 will offer a battery-electric option when it is redesigned around 2022. This information was reported Friday by Autocar, which quoted Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson as saying.
Volvo unveiled its first electric car, the XC40 Recharge, last October. Since then, the car has already racked up "thousands of confirmed orders," Volvo said Friday.
The success has convinced Volvo that by 2025, half of its sales will be electric and the rest will be hybrids.
The redesigned XC90 will feature an updated version of the Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) modular platform that debuted on the current XC90 The electric car version, likely to be called the XC90 Recharge, will be the XC40 Following the Recharge, the battery will be housed in a safety cage embedded in the center of the floor, which should help lower the vehicle's center of gravity. Mild hybrid and plug-in hybrid options should also be available.
The redesigned XC90 is also expected to include some degree of automated driving features. The car will likely be capable of high levels of autonomous driving on some highways, similar to Cadillac with its Super Cruise system.
There is another major change to the new model. Volvo currently builds the XC90 for sale in North America in Sweden, but the redesigned version will be sourced from Volvo's plant near Charleston, South Carolina. This plant currently produces the S60 sedan for worldwide sales.