Volvo unveiled its flagship electric vehicle, the EX90, a seven-passenger SUV that can travel 360 miles (about 580 kilometers) on a full charge. The debut of the Volvo EX90 is a “huge step forward” in the automaker’s quest to become an all-electric brand by 2030, and the SUV marks the brand’s entry into software-defined vehicles,” CEO Jim Rowan said at the live-streamed launch, with its sports technology and safety features expected to permeate other products as well.
The EX90 embodies Volvo’s key marketing selling point: no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo vehicle, and it aims to have electric cars account for half of the 1.2 million cars the company will sell worldwide by mid-decade.
According to Volvo, the standard system has 16 ultrasonic sensors, eight cameras, five radar systems, and a roof-mounted LIDAR that helps the car see things within 820 feet in total darkness.
All of these work together to form an invisible safety shield,” said Rowan, who said the EX90 is “the safest car Volvo has ever made. He said the system is also designed with artificial intelligence features that will adapt more to the driver’s behavior over time.
As the industry’s newest “software-defined car,” the SUV relies on core computing technology. The software technology was created with partners, including Google, Apple, NVIDIA, Luminar and Qualcomm.
The EX90’s 360-mile range puts it ahead of most new battery-electric SUVs on the overseas market, including the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Tesla Model X. It also features bi-directional charging, using the car’s battery as an additional source of energy supply to power household appliances and also to feed energy back to the grid.
The automaker said Wednesday it plans to launch a Volvo app, details of which are to be determined and expand its subscription-based ownership and Volvo maintenance programs to more cities and countries.
