√Volvo ‘ES90’ electric sedan due next year

Volvo’s largest luxury sedan appears set to be rebooted in Australia with electric propulsion and a new name.

EXCLUSIVE

The Volvo S90 limousine is due to be revitalised next year – and return to Australia – with electric power, as Volvo commits to sedan, hatchback and wagon body-styles in the battery-powered era.

Confidential plans unearthed by Drive indicate development of an electric successor to the Volvo S90 sedan – the company’s rival for the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class, but which has not been available in Australia since 2019 – is well underway.

It is believed the new vehicle – which could wear the ‘ES90’ name, if trademark filings are a guide – could arrive in Australian showrooms by the end of 2024.

Drive understands the new ES90 electric sedan – a rival for the Tesla Model S, Mercedes-Benz EQE and more – will borrow heavily from – or share – its ‘SPA2’ electric-car architecture with the new EX90 large electric SUV.

MORE: Volvo’s electric future revealed: New sedan, city SUV coming to Australia

This architecture has been designed for electric vehicles only, and in the EX90 – and its five-seat Polestar 3 sibling – is expected to accomodate single-motor rear-wheel-drive and dual-motor all-wheel drive models.

Plans seen by Drive indicate Volvo is planning a more contemporary appearance for the electric S90 successor, with the option of the largest wheels it has ever fitted to a non-SUV model, at 22 inches.

While Drive has seen plans for a sedan body style, questions remain over whether today’s V90 wagon – offered in Australia in high-riding Cross Country form between 2017 and 2021 – will continue into the electric era.

The global boss of Volvo, Jim Rowan, told Australian media in Melbourne last month the company is evaluating whether there is space for sedans, wagons and hatchbacks in its future electric line-up.

MORE: Volvo evaluating hatchbacks, sedans, and wagons in future electric line-up

While the new ‘ES90’ would mark a return for Volvo to the large luxury sedan market in Australia – after the S90 was axed in 2019 – Volvo executives indicate it would initially be sold alongside the petrol S90 overseas.

Volvo says it plans to go electric-only internationally by 2030 – but the switch is planned to occur earlier in Australia, from 2026.

The Volvo ES90 will go head-to-head – and be placed on a collision course – with the similarly-sized Polestar 5 from sister brand Polestar, which is due in showrooms at a similar time. Both Volvo and its Polestar electric offshoot are owned by Chinese car giant Geely.

However, whereas Drive understands the Volvo sedan is planned to be derived from the new EX90 SUV, the Polestar has been confirmed to use a bespoke aluminium structure developed by Polestar in the UK.

Speaking to Australian media in Sweden last week, Volvo chief operating officer Bjorn Annwall did not confirm plans for the new ES90, but pointed to a new ’90 Series’ electric sedan which could be sold alongside the S90.

“We can have the S90 in parallel with a kind of fully-electric 90,” Mr Annwall told media.

The future of the smaller S60 sedan and V60 wagon is unclear. However, the current versions of these vehicles are not due for replacement until 2026 – compared to the S90, which is now nine years old (having launched in 2016).

However, Mr Annwall told media Volvo won’t move to a sprawling range of dozens of body types and sizes – as its German competitors have adopted – and that there will not be a sedan, wagon, SUV and ‘coupe SUV’ model in each size class of car.

“One advantage of Volvo’s quite-limited car range means we can handle this transition [to electric cars] quite effectively, because if you have 20 [body sizes and styles] it’s very hard to go up to 40 [when selling petrol cars alongside electric versions],” Mr Annwall said.

“Once that transition is over and we’re back to just electric cars [in 2030], will the car range be much different than it used to be? I don’t think we’re going to be the brand that has many [models], we’re still going to have a fairly concentrated range.

“I’m not sure you’re going to have a wagon, a sedan and an SUV – and coupe version of [the SUV] – for every size. I don’t think that makes sense.”

Volvo Australia managing director Stephen Connor told Drive last year the company is preparing to introduce a new electric sedan – but did not name the model as the S90-sized ES90.

“We should have another [electric car] coming through around the same time as the EX90 in 2024. It’s a sedan. It will be a brand-new model in that segment,” Mr Connor said in September.

Plans seen by Drive align with a recent report from news agency Reuters, which claimed Volvo is planning electric successors to the S90 and S60, as well as the XC60, XC40 and XC90 (EX90).

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