The Volvo ES90 electric sedan has debuted as the Swedish luxury brand’s newest flagship car. It’s the spiritual successor to the Volvo S90, the bigger and pricier of the brand’s two current sedan offerings, which is available with a mild-hybrid or plug-in hybrid powertrain.
“The Volvo ES90 combines our most advanced technologies with Scandinavian design and superior comfort, creating a true premium Volvo car designed to elevate your quality of life,” Volvo CEO Jim Rowan said. “It joins the EX90 SUV as one of our flagship models and cements our position as an industry leader in software-defined cars that harness the power of core computing.”
The Volvo ES90 is a four-door with a liftback design, but it isn’t quite a wagon. Rather than a traditional trunk, the rear glass lifts up, revealing a large opening for the cargo hold. It has the taller stance we’ve seen in some other premium electric sedans like the BMW i5 and i7, presumably to accommodate the battery pack.
The interior design blends modern flair with familiar Volvo design cues, like a vertically oriented 14.5-inch infotainment screen and lovely (optional) Bowers & Wilkins speakers, including in the headrests.
Details are surprisingly light on the electric powertrain, but we expect it to be similar to the Volvo EX90. In the EX90 electric crossover, a 402-horsepower dual-motor powertrain is standard, and a 510-hp Performance variant is optional. Volvo estimates a range of up to 700 km (434 miles) on a full charge using the WLTP testing cycle, and we expect an EPA estimate lower than that. The ES90’s new 800-volt technology yields charging times as fast as 300 km (186 miles) in as little as 10 minutes using a 350 kW fast charging station.
Volvo’s calling card has always been safety, and it’s emphasizing the use of powerful computer hardware and AI software to enhance the safety and user experience of its cars.
“The Superset is enabled by core computing, and the ES90 is the first Volvo car to be powered by a dual NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Orin configuration. That makes it the most powerful car we have ever created in terms of core computing capacity,” Volvo Chief Engineering and Technology Officer Anders Bell said. “This allows us to further raise the bar on safety and overall performance through data, software, and AI.”
Since the Cadillac Celestiq is a bespoke ultra-luxury vehicle, GM has no direct rival to the Volvo ES90. Cadillac doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to come out with any electric sedans, so we might be waiting a while to see a luxury car like this from GM.
Comments
Better than GM even with antiphatic middle tablet console
What’s new?
That is one really beautiful sedan.
I personally am not a fan of Vertical screens but other that that, Cadillac better come with it when they bring out their EV Sedans.
GM needs 800 Volt Architecture as quickly as possible as their charging speed is very slow!!!
Glad to hear they are working on it and we should see it soon.
Next generation GM batteries should be coming next year or 2027 which feels painfully far away at this point. I’ve seen 124 miles in 5 minutes as an alleged charge time, which makes me believe it will be an 800v system. Now if they can also get the extra 30% range that BMW is claiming out of their next gen battery system, I’m interested. That would bring range up to around 400 miles, which I consider to be the floor for me adopting an EV.
My 2024 Sierra EV has an 800V architecture with 350 kW charging. Granted, it’s a pickup truck, but GM has this technology already.
Like the Tesla Model S, only safer and with Swedish engineering.
GM can do it. Just convert the Equinox EV or Optiq body to a sedan. It takes less engineering than starting from a blank page or convering an existing sedan (such as the CT4) to electric power.
I work for a Volvo dealer. We have been eagerly waiting to see the ES90, but are kind of let down with this. I don’t mind it and I’m happy they are offering a “sedan” if that’s what they call this. Where the disappointment comes in is that the current S90 is a low slung true sedan that is high on luxury looks. I’d say it is very direct to the old CT6 Cadillac. What we were hoping for would be the ES90 to be more like the BMW and MB larger sedans. Instead, we are getting this which is just a bloated Polestar 2 which doesn’t exactly look very luxurious to us.
At least it’s not a full on SUV.
That vertical tablet is hideous.
Random thoughts:
1. The more sedan-like look is MUCH better than everything being a crossover now.
2. The glued on iPad dashes must end. I don’t mind the horizontal nor vertical looks, but you MUST take the time to design and incorporate the screens into the dash so they flow. It matters… a lot.
Agree re your second point. The tablet is not a problem, but its lazy-ass integration into the dashboard is.