Volvo’s local arm says it has been blown away by the response from customers for the new all-electric EX90, despite its arrival being well over a year away.
Even without local pricing and specifications, Volvo Car Australia public relations director Greg Bosnich told CarExpert customers are lining up to put their names down for an EX90.
“We already had a number of orders [deposits] already. Even without any specification or pricing – it’s in the double digits already,” Mr Bosnich said.
Volvo will follow a similar format to the launch of the all-electric XC40 Recharge for taking customer orders with both the retailer and online portals offering an order opportunity.
“I think the retailer will always have an element of involvement, but it’s just like our other electric vehicles. We will go online and the idea is that Volvo wants to have a direct relationship with the consumer,” said Mr Bosnich.
“We’ve done that with XC40 Recharge, we did that with the C40 Recharge and we’ll follow that format with the new and exciting EX90.”
Volvo boss Jim Rowan recently revealed in an interview that he expects 50 per cent of Volvo’s transactions to be online by 2025. While that refers to a company average, it wouldn’t be hard to see that model gradually being adopted by Australian consumers who are already comfortable ordering electronics and food online.
Based on a new Volvo electric vehicle architecture, the all-wheel drive EX90 will be available initially with a large 111kWh battery pack driving two permanent magnet motors with system outputs of up to 380kW and 910Nm.
The EX90 uses a combination of sensors, cameras, radar and LiDAR, connected to the car’s high-performance core computers where Nvidia Drive runs Volvo Cars’ in-house software to create “a real-time and 360-degree view of the world”.
As well as all the familiar driver-assist features, there’s a new Pilot Assist with steering support while changing lanes. Interior sensors and cameras also gauge eye concentration, and either nudge you into paying attention or safely slow the vehicle if you’re dozing.
Finally, thanks to its state-of-the-art sensor set, the EX90 is the first Volvo that’s hardware-ready for unsupervised driving in the future – if it ever happens.
A newly revealed Volvo system also uses radar sensors to detect sub-millimetre movements in the interior of the car, to help protect against accidentally leaving children or pets inside. The system is also linked to the climate control system.
Inside, a 15-inch centre screen has a 5G connection and Google built in, using its operating system. That means Google apps and services including Google Assistant and Google Maps are available, as well as wireless Apple CarPlay.
Volvo is gearing up to phase out internal-combustion engines globally by 2030, but the local arm has committed to do so by 2026.
MORE: Everything Volvo EX90
