Volvo Cars stated earlier this year that it intends to become a fully-electric car brand by 2030, and now we have confirmation that the first non-Polestar model to be launched without an internal combustion engine option will be the next-generation Volvo XC90.
Volvo has announced that the fully electric successor to the XC90 flagship SUV will be unveiled in 2022, although the Swedish carmaker has not disclosed any further details about its electric drivetrain or how far it will travel between charges. The new Volvo XC90 will reportedly be built around the company’s new SPA2 modular architecture and there are also rumours of an even bigger XC100 model joining the line-up.
According to Volvo the 2022 XC90 will come standard with “industry leading” safety technology as standard, including LiDAR technology by Luminar and an autonomous driving computing system powered by Nvidia Drive Orin.
The company said that whereas previous systems relied on warning drivers about potential hazards, the new tech will increasingly intervene, where necessary, to prevent accidents. These back-up functions for steering and braking will also eventually allow for fully autonomous driving functions to be activated – at a point in the future when it is deemed safe, and legal of course.
“Volvo Cars is and always has been a leader in safety. It will now define the next level of car safety,” said Volvo chief executive Håkan Samuelsson. “By having this hardware as standard, we can continuously improve safety features over the air and introduce advanced autonomous drive systems, reinforcing our leadership in safety.”
Volvo’s tech chief Henrik Green reiterated that Volvo stands by its long-term goal of ensuring zero collisions. “As we improve our safety technology continuously through updates over the air, we expect collisions to become increasingly rare and hope to save more lives,” Green stated.