‘Volvo will introduce an electric MPV this year’

With the already presented Volvo EX90, the Swedes are in a sense adding a second fully electric model to their line-up. Admittedly: with the C40 and XC40, the brand actually already has two EVs on offer, but the former is more a body variant of the other than an actual stand-alone model. The smaller SUV EX30, to be unveiled later this year, will be Volvo’s third – or fourth – electric asset in Europe.

For the Chinese market, more is already known about Volvo’s electrification offensive. Not entirely surprising, given that the owner of the brand – Geely – is Chinese herself. The also Chinese Qin Peiji, head of Volvo Cars Great China Sales Company, reveals that Volvo’s upcoming line-up for China this year will consist of six electric models. These are the XC40 and C40, two variants of the EX90, the EX30 and… an MPV. According to Car News Chinawhich saw Peiji’s presentation, shares that car with the Zeekr 009.

This means that the Volvo MPV will be placed on Geely’s SEA platform, which will soon also be available on the European market, among other models. The platform is scalable and offers space for battery packs of up to at least 140 kWh (!), so that cars with an aerodynamically less favorable coach must also be able to travel more than 800 kilometers. The SEA platform (in a smaller form) is also found under the Volvo EX30 and the Smart #1.

In the Zeekr 009, which is not intended for the European market, it offers space for two electric motors for a system power of 540 hp, so it could just be that Volvo’s MPV also gets that value. This is not very relevant for the Netherlands, because it is expected that this car – just like the Zeekr 009 – will not come to Europe. Still, we will be curious to see what the model will look like, because Volvo’s design language has not previously appeared on such a body variant.