- Volvo CEO says company is ahead of other legacy automakers
- EX60 is its first truly software-defined vehicle
- A 500+ mile range and 400kW charging are promised
Volvo has been on the PR offensive this week, teasing information about its upcoming EX60 electric SUV before finally revealing it at a glitzy event in Stockholm, Sweden.
There’s good reason for that, as its XC60 (the vehicle the EV will largely replace) has sold over 2.7 million units since its release in 2008, making it the best-selling Volvo of all time.
Considering the marque’s flagship EX90 got off to a rocky start thanks to software and computing gremlins, it has a huge task to ensure success – not least because it will consider Tesla and BMW among its fiercest rivals.
But Volvo’s President and CEO, Hakan Samuelsson, is fully backing the latest compact SUV, which the company says “changes the game” and will “end range anxiety” thanks to its 500+ mile range and the ability to chug electrons at a rate of 400kW. It can add up to 211 miles of range in just ten minutes – that’s mightily impressive.
“I think we are well ahead of the others, and good luck, the rest of you,” Samuelsson said in a round table interview, according to The Drive.
Michael Fleiss, Volvo Chief Strategy and Product Officer, then expanded, stating that the EX90 is a software defined vehicle, the likes of which Ford, tried, and stopped.
“Volkswagen still trying, not achieved. And we have managed it,” he added. Although he did admit that it took “some time” to get there.
The EX60 is powered by what Volvo refers to as the latest generation of its HuginCore (it is named after a Norse bird) superset stack that includes hardware from Nvidia and Qualcomm Technologies.
This massive amount of computing power drives the latest Android Automotive Operating System, which will be the first in the automotive space to have Google’s Gemini AI assistant baked in from the get-go.
Not only does this powerful hardware set-up allow for “ultra responsive” infotainment, it also powers advanced driver assistance and safety systems, as well as paving the way for higher levels of autonomous driving.
Learning from mistakes
Despite Volvo’s launch event bluster, the Swedish company was quick to admit that its path to a true software defined vehicle hasn’t been easy, with Michael Fleiss acknowledging that he feels Volvo is “one of the few legacy OEMs who have that”.
“Our customers have suffered under the EX90 quality issues we had in the past, which are solved now, since the last software update. So that was a painful development”, he said. That referred to the fact that the company’s flagship, seven-seat SUV shipped without the compute power to run its state-of-the-art LiDAR-based suite of safety functions.
Much was made of the technology at time of launch and its abilities to reduce the intrusiveness of safety systems, effectively giving the driver a second pair of eyes, and opening the doors to high levels of autonomous driving.
But the LiDAR remained offline until the company started recalling EX90s to replace their computer chips and now that Volvo has terminated its contract with supplier Luminar, it looks like it will now be rendered useless.
On top of this, there have been a number of forums frequented by early EX90 owners that have been plagued by all manner of bugs and gremlins, again forcing the Swedish marque to recall cars and even replace them entirely.
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Volvo’s latest electric SUV will launch without LiDAR technology, due to relationships with its supplier Luminar breaking down. Plus, the decision to use the technology on the ES90 has also been reversed, which is great from a design standpoint but asks many questions about the effectiveness of the company’s camera and radar approach in the future.
The Volvo EX60 is undoubtedly a highly advanced EV, offering a massive range and ultra-fast charging speeds, but Volvo’s recent confidence comes from the fact that it finally feels that it has nailed the complicated software problems that tend to blight legacy automakers.
But with the impending launch of the highly advanced BMW iX3 (another ‘game changer’), Porsche’s recent electric Macan and Tesla’s continued dominance with the Model Y, it’s going to have a tough time reaching the sort of numbers its best-selling XC60 managed.
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