The carmaker is still counting on the demand for hybrid drives, which is offered by the current generation of the XC90 model. In addition, a pair of factories will allow parallel production.
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Like most of the world’s carmakers, Volvo is slowly preparing for the transition to pure electric mobility that it has been heading for since 2030. However, the brand’s new electric flagship, which will succeed the XC90, is expected to be introduced this year. But they won’t push him out of the menu for a few more years.
In an interview with Automotive News, Hakan Samuelsson, CEO of Volvo, revealed that the company plans to use its two factories to simultaneously produce the existing XC90 and its electric successor. The new electric car should be manufactured in a new factory in South Carolina, while the existing Volvo XC90 should be manufactured in Sweden.
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Samuelsson then justified the carmaker’s decision by asking a simple question – why should Volvo end existing production at the Torslanda plant, when there is still a market for the hybrid engines that the XC90 offers?
At the same time, the carmaker does not only plan to continue production, as it also expects to modernize the existing XC90 generation in the coming years. However, Samuelsson should have made it clear that the planned modernization will not concern the propulsion units, but only the design.
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However, the production of the existing XC90 will not run indefinitely. The carmaker is focusing on investing in a new generation of electric vehicles and is also planning to rebuild the Swedish Torslanda plant for the production of electric cars, which it should probably start in 2025.
The electric successor to the XC90, which could be called Embla, could be introduced later this year, but the carmaker has not yet announced the official date. We also don’t know much about technology, but it should be the first Volvo to be designed directly as an electric car.
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The car should therefore be optimized for the installation of an electric propulsion system, which should have a positive effect on the characteristics of its cabin. According to the head of the carmaker, we can expect, for example, a flat floor and a spacious interior.
Simultaneous production of the new and existing generations of the XC90 will then be nothing new for Volvo. The carmaker used a similar strategy when launching the second generation XC90, which was produced together with the first. A similar step was taken years ago by Jeep, which co-produced the JK and JL generation Wranglers, or by the RAM company with the 1500 model.
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