Volvo S90 Detroit debut underlines Volvo's USA ambitions

The Volvo S90 debuts at the Detroit Motor Show

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The new Volvo S90 has had its public debut at the Detroit Motor Show as Volvo seeks to establish itself as a desirable premium brand in the USA.

When the new Volvo XC90 debuted in 2014, Volvo chose the Paris Motor Show as the venue so its key European market got the opportunity to see just how good the first Volvo to show Volvo’s new ambitions was. But it’s a different story for the new Volvo S90.

Volvo has chosen to give the new S90 its public debut on the other side of the Pond at the 2016 Detroit Motor Show, a clear indication that they see the USA as a very breakable target for Volvo sales, despite a long period of indifference in the States to Volvo’s offerings.

Volvo has no doubt been buoyed by the new XC90’s success in the States, where they even had to resort to offering buyers of the new XC90 a subsidised XC60 to keep them mobile as Volvo struggled to build enough cars to meet demand.

The success of the XC90 helped Volvo’s sales in the USA rise by 24.3 per cent in 2015, but towards the end of the year the sales increase was spectacular – up almost 90 per cent from October to December.

Volvo are now busy building a production plant in Charleston, South Carolina, and see the new S90 as the next wave of success in North America. And on the evidence so far they’re almost certainly right.

The new S90 has stunningly good looks, a massively appealing cabin, a range of Drive E engines offering up to 400bhp in the T8, masses of safety and driver aid technology – including semi-autonomous drive – and a persona that offers all the kudos of the German premium marques but without their ‘Look how flash I am’ mantra.

Thomas Ingenlath, Volvo Design VP. said:

We created our new flagship saloon, the Volvo S90, as a real game changer. It is classy and cool. The exterior is exceptionally well surfaced, with a fantastic stance and the sort of clean lines that are singularly appropriate of a Scandinavian design. The interior masters the art of blending innovative technology and natural materials into an elegant, welcoming and tasteful ambience – Swedishness at its best.

With the new XC90 and S90 just the start of the new wave of Volvo cars, the future is starting to look very rosy for Volvo – even in the USA.