A couple of weeks ago, I found myself near Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan, driving the new Volvo EX90. And this new large electric SUV from the Swedish carmaker was extremely impressive. With motors on each axle, the EX90 has a combined top power out of 456 horsepower, which can move this frankly huge three-row vehicle from 0 to 100 kmph in just 5.5 seconds. That is physics-defying.
The EX90 is likely to cost a pretty penny once it is launched in mid-October, and I expect a price point of around Rs 1.5 crore at the very least, for the non-‘special’ edition. Interestingly, Volvo has curtailed the top-speed on this to ‘just’ 180 kmph, which is still more than enough for Indian conditions in my opinion, given that you can’t do more than 120 kmph on most expressways in the country. But the big deal here is the range — in excess of 600 km on a single charge, which means a return trip between Delhi and Chandigarh.
But you must have already read a lot of all this in the review articles and videos of the EX90. You can also watch my review video here. Now, let me come to the design. While the EX90 clearly takes the legacy of the popular XC90 and continues with some concepts of Scandinavian minimalism, there is a clear Chinese feeling to the car.
By the Chinese, for the Chinese
Keeping aside the Chinese technology, the Volvo EX90 has a clear Chinese aesthetic in its design. Of course, part of that is because Volvo Cars has been owned by Chinese carmaker Geely since 2010, and today all Volvo and Geely cars share major parts and also platforms. Yes, Volvo still answers to its own board, they still design their cars in Gothenburg and build them in Torslanda. But things like the massive 14-inch central display and the tiny digital instrument cluster are a clear giveaway that the EX90 has been designed to suit Chinese buyers.
Although, weirdly enough, when I drove the EX90, it was clear that the vehicle that we will get in India is driver-oriented, with the driving feel and features like the front massage seats. I don’t think this is necessarily the best idea in this segment. Maybe, Volvo would have been better served by not just bringing in the Chinese technology but also the Chinese car market’s focus on rear-seat passengers in the premium category, which is evident in Geely’s Lynk & Co and Zeekr brands.
Make of it what you will, China is setting the agenda for the global car market. Massive screens, loads of cameras, and radars. And the features don’t end here. Many vehicles come with ‘edge-to-edge’ displays, which have entered the Indian market, as seen on Mahindra and Tata SUVs. The massive evolution of exterior light design, for example, is thanks entirely to China. And also the headlight technology. The EX90 has 1.3 million pixels on its front headlights, which can adjust the beam for up to five oncoming vehicles.
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Riding the ‘Chinese’ wave
But it isn’t just Volvo, Volkswagen Group’s massive announcements of plant closures in Germany is almost entirely down to China. German car companies fattened themselves on Chinese profits, and when their products couldn’t compete with China any longer, things went downhill. Volkswagen now co-develops its own brand vehicles with Chinese carmaker XPENG and has brought in a new brand in China called ‘Jetta’; even Audi has a new China-only brand imaginatively named ‘AUDI’. Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover has revived the ‘Freelander’ brand as an electric vehicle joint-venture with Chinese carmaker Chery.
This is why I think the future is good for Volvo, being one of the first major European car brands to be taken over by the Chinese. And the reason EX90 is so good is — there is no other way of putting this — because the Chinese are making some of the best cars in the world right now. They are far better than anything the Europeans have to offer by themselves. Notably, the best European vehicles have Chinese underpinnings. Maybe a slightly enhanced focus on the rear passengers would make the EX90 perfect.
Kushan Mitra is an automotive journalist based in New Delhi. He tweets @kushanmitra. Views are personal.
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)