Volvo EX90: What do we Know About the New EV SUV?

This upcoming EV will boast high-tech Level 3 autonomy that allows 'drivers' to take their eyes off the road.

Andrew Ganz | 

Nov 8, 2022 | 3 min read

The Volvo Concept Recharge could preview the EX90 production SUV’s styling | Volvo

Set to debut this November, the Volvo EX90 will be as much about the riding experience as the driving experience. We’re yet to hear about a firm date for sales to begin, but the EX90 will likely arrive at dealerships sometime in 2023.

What Is the Volvo EX90?

The EX90 may eventually replace the automaker’s XC90 three-row, midsize SUV at the top of Volvo’s lineup. Just as the outgoing XC90 reinvented Volvo’s design language and served as its tech ambassador, the EX90 will shift the automaker in a different direction.

For starters, the EX90 will debut the automaker’s new Ride Pilot system, which offers what the Society of Automotive Engineers calls Level 3 autonomy. When engaged on select roads, the system allows drivers to let go of the steering wheel and redirect their focus elsewhere. In a media statement, the automaker suggested that drivers (if that’s still what we’ll call them) can spend their time “on secondary activities like reading, writing, working, or socializing.”

In essence, the EX90 becomes an autonomous shuttle, with eight cameras, five radar devices, 16 ultrasonic sensors, and a LiDAR sensor scanning the road ahead, to the side, and behind to create a three-dimensional model of what the vehicle might encounter. The LiDAR sensor—an acronym for Light Detection and Ranging—is embedded into the EX90’s roof, and Volvo says it can spot pedestrians more than 800 feet ahead of the vehicle.

There are some asterisks, though. The system will initially debut in California only, and Volvo says it’s still subject to regulatory approval. Pending that sign-off, the EX90 could become among the first vehicles with Level 3 tech to be offered to American buyers.

In a video released to tease the EX90’s debut, Volvo CEO Jim Rowan noted that the vehicle would also have an interior radar sensing system. This would help remind a driver distracted by something else on their mind that they may have a sleeping child buckled in behind them.

Volvo Concept Recharge | Volvo

What Will the Volvo EX90 Look Like?

Every indication from Volvo suggests that the EX90 will take an SUV form, and the “90” in its name means it will be sized along the lines of the XC90. Patent images shared online reveal styling derivative of the current XC90, albeit with no grille up front. Ultimately, the EX90’s aesthetic details remain anyone’s guess, but we know what it will look like underneath the skin.

The Volvo SUV will use what’s dubbed a “skateboard platform,” which, as its name implies, typically means a flat panel (a large battery pack in this case) with integrated electric motors. A skateboard platform frees up automakers to build whatever they want on top.

That’s right: the EX90 will be a fully electric model with no gas-fueled counterpart. However, Volvo has not provided any hints about the EX90’s electric range.

Media reports suggest that a redesigned XC90 will arrive at some point, but it may retain a gas-fueled engine. Both models will be built together at a Volvo assembly plant in South Carolina.

Volvo Concept Recharge | Volvo

How Much Will the Volvo EX90 Cost?

That’s another big question mark, but the EX90 name implies top ranking in the Volvo lineup. The current XC90 starts at about $57,000, climbing to about $86,000 in loaded, plug-in hybrid form.

Andrew Ganz

Andrew Ganz has had cars in his blood ever since he gnawed the paint off of a diecast model as a toddler. After growing up in Dallas, Texas, he earned a journalism degree, worked in public relations for two manufacturers, and served as an editor for a luxury-lifestyle print publication and several well-known automotive websites. In his free time, Andrew loves exploring the Rocky Mountains' best back roads—when he’s not browsing ads for his next car purchase.