Volvo CEO Jim Rowan has hinted at the imminent arrival of a compact electric crossover to sit below the XC40 Recharge EV.
Speaking at the reveal of the new flagship Volvo EX90 in Sweden today, Rowan said: “We’ll have one final look at the EX90, and if you look closely, maybe you’ll see something else, but that’s for another day” – as two silhouetted cars appeared on a display screen, one seemingly the EX90 and the other a similarly styled but much smaller model.
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Volvo is understood to be working on a premium-oriented compact crossover in the vein of the Mercedes-Benz EQA and DS 3 Crossback E-Tense. The model will play a key role in the brand’s ambition for EVs to account for 50% of its global sales by 2025. Previously tipped to take either the XC20 or C20 moniker into production, it has now been confirmed to follow the EX90 in adopting a new name and, like that car, will sit high off the ground but have a streamlined silhouette to maximise efficiency.
It is expected to be the first Volvo model to sit on Geely’s new ‘open-source’ SEA platform, as first used for the new 001 shooting brake from nascent Chinese premium brand Zeekr (above). That car comes with either an 86kWh or 100kWh battery for a maximum range of 435 miles, hinting at the long-range potential of any platform-sharing Volvo model.
Notably, Zeekr claims it can charge at speeds of up to 360kW, which allows for 75 miles of range to be added in just five minutes. However, the 001’s 536bhp twin-motor drivetrain is likely to remain the preserve of performance-focused models.
Other headline features of the SEA architecture include its automatically lowering suspension, facial recognition functionality and ‘full-life’ over-the-air update compatibility.
Meanwhile, Geely-owned Polestar has a second SUV due in 2023. it will sit between the 2 and 3 in terms of size and feature similarly rakish proportions to the flagship model but it will be positioned as a more mass-market proposition. It will sit lower to the ground than the 3 and feature a more heavily curved roofline, but Polestar boss Thomas Ingenlath said it will not “compromise much” on interior space.
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That Polestar looks like a Porche to me, think I would need to get a Porche badge for one ,who would guess.
Odd choice of name. When I hear entry level I have an image of a car with steel wheels, with the 5" radio without DAB, with wyndy-up windows and you can have it in any colour you like as long as it's solid red.
Seems under the new norm, entry level starts from £41k !
I really fear for the future of car production because the prices being talked about are insane.
Manufacturers are enjoying their moment of pricing power due the chip shortage, however when this resolves (and as huge further manufacturing capacity from China comes on line) they are in for a hell of a shock as we see greater over capacity than ever before. List prices are pretty meaningless anyway when the vast majority of new cars are sold on structured finance/leases etc. where the bottom line is how much it costs over the 2-5 years of the agreement.
There's been crazy money added to the economy the last couple years so some of us have a lot of money to spend on things. Hence inflation.
So the 'entry level' platform has a bigger battery and more power than the cars above it in the line up? Ok then...
Mind you, apparently the successor to the Elise will have close to 500bhp, so Geely have previous here.
Are small, light, ingenious cars really gone for good?