NEW Volvo XC90 is OFFICIALLY on the way

Volvo boss Hakan Samuelsson has confirmed that there will be a new generation XC90, likely to be a long-range PHEV like the new XC70.

Volvo’s ambitions to become an EV-only car maker by 2030 always looked to be a daft thing to proclaim, relying on legislation to force buyers into EVs, and overly optimistic estimations of the number of buyers wanting an EV.

Volvo’s 2030 EV target has long gone out of the window, but not before the work to make that happen created a huge asset dent on Volvo’s books, with Volvo taking the pragmatic decision to keep a facelifted XC90 in production for a while rather than replace it with the problem-ridden EX90 as was originally planned (and likely to do the same with the XC60/EX60).

Now, it seems, Volvo isn’t just planning to keep the facelifted XC90 in production as long as buyers want it (which they certainly do) but is planning a new generation XC90.

Volvo boss, Hakan Samuelsson, speaking to Investors this week, declared, “We will need a new XC90.” Which is quite the turnaround, but eminently sensible.

The off-the-cuff remark by Samuelsson (if indeed it was only that) means we have no detail of what to expect, but it does seem the new, currently China-only, Volvo XC70 gives us an idea of what the new XC90 could offer.

Likely to be only offered as a PHEV, the new XC90 could share the  XC70’s Platform and powertrain – perhaps with a 2.0-litre ICE engine rather than the XC70’s 1.5-litre lump – with a meatier electric motor on the back axle powered by a bigger 40kWh battery giving EV range of over 100 miles.

Although a new XC90 is now officially on the way, it’s likely to be at least a year before it arrives.