Volvo will follow the EX60 next year with a more affordable electric model on its radical new SPA3 platform, which is set to take on the Skoda Elroq and Ford Explorer as a successor to the ageing EX40 crossover.
Primed to begin deliveries after the summer, the new model will target "a large lower-priced market segment" than the EX60, which starts at £57,000 and rises to £70,000.
The EX40 successor is one of 13 new cars Volvo will launch globally by 2030. It will be designed and engineered primarily for the European market, in line with the company's new regionalised product development strategy.
Volvo is also working on a new flagship SUV for the US market, based on the XC90's SPA2 platform, and six models specifically for China based on modular architecture from parent company Geely.
A 420-MILE ELROQ RIVAL?
Volvo hasn't given any firm details of the next SPA3 car, but that early hint at its positioning would suggest a smaller SUV aimed at Europe's most popular C-segment, where Volvo currently fields the ageing XC40. That model was recently facelifted after nearly a decade on sale. Available with petrol and electric power, the XC40 remains Volvo's second-best-selling model line after the XC60, for which the new EX60 serves as an electric equivalent.
It looks likely that the new volume-focused model will replace the EX40 EV, which starts at £44,000, while the ICE-powered XC40 will remain on sale using the CMA platform.
Volvo has previously said that its new European line-up will eventually include "new low and high body types", hinting at a return to the saloon and estate segments from which it has pulled back in recent years. But the second SPA3 car's volume focus means an SUV is more likely, given the much greater popularity of taller cars in the region.
The platform can be used for cars ranging in size from the EX30 (4.2m long) to the EX90 (5.0m), and it has been engineered to offer packaging flexibility: the battery cells can be rearranged within the floorpan to accommodate different vehicle shapes.
The SPA3 platform introduces a number of significant developments from its SPA2 predecessor, including a new cell-to-body battery design, 'megacasting' production that reduces the number of individual parts and new-generation drivetrain hardware that boosts efficiency and dynamics.
If the new model is the same size as the EX40, it would be around 300mm shorter than the EX60. As such it is unlikely to share the larger car's 112kWh flagship battery option, which offers more than 500 miles of range. The mid-range 91kWh pack could potentially be accommodated, however, which would give the new model a range of more than 410 miles — beating most rivals at this price point — and still be capable of 370kW fast charging.
