- Volvo CEO says company is ahead of other legacy automakers
- The EX60 is its first truly software-defined vehicle
- 500+ mile range and 400kW charging are promised
Volvo went on a PR offensive this week, leaking information about its upcoming EX60 electric SUV before finally revealing it at a glitzy event in Stockholm, Sweden.
There’s good reason for that, as its XC60 (the vehicle the EV will largely replace) has sold more than 2.7 million units since its release in 2008, making it the best-selling Volvo of all time.
Given that the brand’s flagship EX90 got off to a rocky start thanks to software and IT issues, it still has a huge task ahead to ensure its success, not least because it will consider Tesla and BMW among its fiercest rivals.
But Volvo President and CEO Hakan Samuelsson is fully behind the latest compact SUV, which the company says is a “game changer” and will “end range anxiety” thanks to its 500-plus mile range and ability to carry electrons at a rate of 400 kW. It can add up to 211 miles of range in just ten minutes – that’s extremely impressive.
“I think we are way ahead of the others, and good luck to all of you,” Samuelsson said during a roundtable interview, according to The Drive.
Michael Fleiss, Volvo’s director of strategy and product, then elaborated, stating that the EX90 is a software-defined vehicle, like Ford tried and stopped.
“Volkswagen always tries, but it doesn’t succeed. And we succeeded,” he added. Although he admitted it took “a while” to get there.
The EX60 is powered by what Volvo calls the latest generation of its HuginCore superset stack (it’s named after a Nordic bird) that includes hardware from Nvidia and Qualcomm Technologies.
This enormous amount of computing power powers the latest Android automotive operating system, which will be the first in the automotive sector to integrate Google’s Gemini AI assistant out of the box.
Not only does this powerful hardware setup enable “ultra-responsive” infotainment, but it also powers advanced driver assistance and safety systems, while paving the way for higher levels of autonomous driving.
Learn from your mistakes
Despite the bluster at Volvo’s launch event, the Swedish company was quick to admit that its path to a true software-defined vehicle hasn’t been easy, with Michael Fleiss acknowledging that he believes Volvo is “one of the few legacy OEMs that has this.”
“Our customers suffered from the EX90 quality issues we encountered in the past, which are now resolved since the last software update, so this was a painful development,” he said. This referred to the fact that the company’s seven-seat flagship SUV came without the computing power needed to run its cutting-edge LiDAR-based suite of safety features.
Much was made of the technology at launch and its ability to reduce the intrusiveness of safety systems, effectively giving the driver a second pair of eyes and opening the doors to high levels of autonomous driving.
But LiDAR remained offline until the company began recalling EX90s to replace its computer chips, and now that Volvo has terminated its contract with supplier Luminar, it appears it will now be rendered useless.
On top of that, there have been a number of forums frequented by early EX90 owners that have been plagued by all sorts of bugs and gremlins, once again forcing the Swedish brand to recall cars and even replace them entirely.
Picture 1 of 4
Volvo’s latest electric SUV will be launched without LiDAR technology, due to the breakdown in relations with its supplier Luminar. Additionally, the decision to use the technology on the ES90 has also been reversed, which is great from a design perspective, but raises many questions about the effectiveness of the company’s camera and radar approach going forward.
The Volvo EX60 is undoubtedly a very advanced electric vehicle, offering considerable range and lightning-fast charging speeds, but Volvo’s recent confidence comes from the fact that it finally feels like it has solved the complex software issues that tend to blight traditional automakers.
But with the imminent launch of the highly advanced BMW iX3 (another “game changer”), Porsche’s recent electric Macan and Tesla’s continued dominance with the Model Y, it’s going to struggle to achieve the kind of numbers its best-selling XC60 managed.
Follow TechRadar on Google News And add us as your favorite source to get our news, reviews and expert opinions in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube And TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp Also.
