When it involves EVs, Volvo hasn’t been afraid to experiment. It’s tried repurposing a platform from its internal-combustion automobiles (for the EX40 and EC40, nee XC40 Recharge and C40 Recharge), a flagship SUV that’s additionally a expertise demonstrator (the EX90) and a radical reinvention of its model (with the EX30). The Swedish automaker’s latest EV takes yet one more method — one that might make it the most necessary Volvo EV but.
The 2027 Volvo EX60 boasts engineering enhancements in a bundle that’s prone to have mass enchantment. It’s based mostly on a new structure that provides improved vary and charging efficiency, backed by software program with now-obligatory AI integration. And as a five-seat SUV comparable in measurement to the present Volvo XC60 — the automaker’s bestselling mannequin — it’s precisely the kind of automotive most individuals are searching for.
It’s a massive step forward for Volvo
Volvo
Volvo
Volvo
Volvo
Buyers will be capable of select between single-motor rear-wheel drive P6, dual-motor all-wheel drive P10, and bigger-battery dual-motor P12 specs. With a 117-kilowatt-hour (112-kWh usable) battery pack, the P12 could have as much as 400 miles of EPA-estimated vary with the smallest-available 20-inch wheels (21-inch and 22-inch wheels may also be out there), in line with Volvo. The P10 will get as much as 320 miles from a 95-kWh (91 kWh usable) pack), and the P8 is estimated at as much as 310 miles with 83 kWh (80 kWh usable) of battery capability.
The EX60’s SPA3 structure additionally incorporates 800-volt charging, permitting dual-motor fashions to cost at as much as 370 kilowatts (the single-motor P6 maxes out at 320 kW). Volvo estimates that an EX60 can add as much as 211 miles of vary utilizing the most-powerful DC fast-chargers. Bidirectional charging can output as much as 22 kW of energy.
Performance specs are additionally spectacular, though not as massive of a step up from earlier Volvo EVs. The EX60 P12 has 671 horsepower and 582 pound-feet of torque, getting it from zero to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds, in line with Volvo. The P10 has 503 hp and 523 lb-ft of torque, sufficient for zero to 60 mph in an estimated 4.6 seconds. The single-motor P6 has 369 hp and 354 lb-ft, nonetheless sufficient to achieve 60 mph in 5.9 seconds. As with different Volvos, the EX60 is restricted to 112 mph as a part of Volvo’s fixed security campaign.
It’s constructed totally different
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A classy however acquainted look conceals major engineering adjustments. The EX60 appears to be like like an enlarged EX30, however the elevated measurement offers it a extra proper-SUV look, particularly in case you go for the extra rugged Cross Country mannequin. It provides a layer of cladding round the decrease perimeter of the physique, and sits 0.7 inch increased (air suspension jacks it up a additional 0.7 inch).
The measurement is pretty typical as properly. At 189 inches lengthy, 74.7 inches extensive, and 64.5 inches tall, the EX60 is 3.7 inches longer than the present Volvo XC60, about as extensive, and about an inch decrease. That’s nonetheless properly inside the compact SUV envelope most new-car patrons want. The added size and 116.9-inch wheelbase (4.2 inches longer than the XC60’s) is possible a results of battery-packaging calls for.
But in contrast to any earlier Volvo EV, the EX60 adopts cell-to-body development. The battery cells are mounted on to the automobile’s construction, with out the modules and extra packaging of conventional battery packs. This helps scale back weight and simplifies manufacturing, and is made doable by a new-to-Volvo cell design that possible additionally contributes to the EX60’s spectacular vary.
The EX60 chassis may also be constructed from a number of giant “mega castings.” These scale back the variety of particular person components that should be welded collectively to make a full automobile, theoretically streamlining the manufacturing course of and slicing prices. However, mega casting is nonetheless a new course of, so it’s a danger in comparison with conventional manufacturing strategies. Repairability is additionally a major query.
It has god-tier computing energy
Volvo
Volvo was amongst the first automakers to undertake Google’s Android Automotive working system and to supply built-in Google Maps, Google Assistant, and Google Play Store apps as a part of its infotainment programs. So it’s unsurprising that Volvo is including Google Gemini integration as properly, following different automakers like Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen onto the AI hype practice. Volvo guarantees a natural-language interface that does away with inflexible instructions, and the means to question the automotive for issues like lodge suggestions and whether or not potential purchases will slot in the cargo space.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Cockpit Platform system-on-a-chip handles infotainment features, offering extra processing energy than any earlier Volvo manufacturing automotive. Nvidia’s Drive platform (additionally incorporating a system-on-a-chip, the Drive AGX) does the identical for driver-assist options. They’re tied along with in-house developed electronics into what Volvo calls the HuginCore structure. Named after one among the pair of ravens from Norse mythology that function the roaming eyes of the god Odin, it leaves appreciable headroom for future software program enhancements through over-the-air updates, Volvo claims.
It’s obtained a robust job forward
Volvo
Volvo is already taking orders for the European market, with manufacturing scheduled to start out in Sweden this spring and European deliveries following in the summer time. U.S. launch timing and pricing might be introduced at a later date. As good because it appears to be like on paper, the EX60 will face sturdy competitors when it arrives.
The EX60 is a massive step forward for Volvo, however its European rivals are making their very own progress in EV effectivity, vary, and charging. The BMW iX3 is additionally gunning for 400 miles of vary, and the electrical model of the Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class might get fairly near that as properly. Like Volvo, the German manufacturers are additionally aiming to create electrical analogs of their most-popular fashions with these new EV SUVs.
Most established automakers have had a few EV false begins at this level, however after the EX30’s worth proposition was ruined by tariffs and the EX90 did not ship on some promised tech options, Volvo wants a mainstream hit greater than its rivals. Can the EX60 ship?
