Volvo has announced the range of its new electric SUV, the EX60, ahead of its official unveiling later this month.
The Swedish automaker sats the model will deliver a a range of 400 miles (or about 643 km) on a single charge, for a version equipped with all-wheel drive. That range was obtained according to the standards of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). For the time being, Natural Resources Canada has not yet shared its official rating.
Within the rankings of electric vehicles offering the most extensive range, the future Volvo EX60 thus positions itself advantageously among EVs offering substantial range, behind the Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV, the Rivian R1T and R1S, as well as the Tesla Model S.
“The EX60 is designed to be a game-changer. With our new electric vehicle architecture, we are directly addressing customers' primary concerns when considering a switch to a fully electric car. The result: class-leading range and fast charging speeds, putting an end to range anxiety.”
- Anders Bell, Chief Technology Officer at Volvo Cars
270 km in 10 minutes
Regarding charging, Volvo promises that the new EX60 will be able to regain a healthy 270 km of range in just 10 minutes when plugged into a 400-kW charging station.
It should be noted that this new electric SUV is built on Volvo's new electrical architecture known as SPA3, in which the batteries are integrated directly into the vehicle's structure. The electric motors were developed in-house by Volvo.
The Volvo EX60 is set to be unveiled on January 21st. The new EV enters the picture just as the EX90 exits it, Volvo having confirmed the withdrawal of that electric SUV from the Canadian market.
Why one and not the other?
Volvo hasn’t explicitly answered the question regarding the opposing destinies of the EX90 and EX60. We do know that some units of the former are built by Volvo in South Carolina, but that many of its components are made in China – making them subject to Canada’s 100-percent tariffs on Chinese-made EVs.
We can also surmise that Volvo looked at the specificities of the Canadian market, which tends to skew more to smaller SUVs than the America one, and decided the larger EX90 just had a lower ceiling in terms of potential sales here.