The all-new Volvo EX60 is set to be revealed next week, January 21, and the company has dropped a new batch of teaser pics along with bits of new info. From this batch, we get to see the electric SUV’s rear end, and a glimpse of its minimalist cabin.
No big surprises though – the EX60’s rear is typically Volvo with vertical LED signatures tracing the outline of the rear silhouette, including the SUV’s ‘shoulders’. The lights don’t ‘turn in’ like the EX30 and EX90 though – they’re literally an outline. We expected a sparse rear end with just the Volvo script logo on the tailgate (number plate on the bumper), and the EX60 follows the trend.
Also very Volvo is the EX60’s dashboard, or the little that we can see so far. The low angle shot points up at a long vertical centre screen and what appears to be a crystal-effect volume control on a brushed-finish centre console, which is very bare. The screen displays AC controls and the logo of Gemini, the AI assistant from Google.
The EX60 will slot in between Volvo’s current large and compact electric SUV models, the EX90 flagship and the entry EX30. A bit like an XC60 equivalent, but with a larger space gap to fill on the electric side, as the EX30 is really small.
Volvo says that the EX60 will go further than any EV it has created, with best-in-class 810 km range in an all-wheel drive configuration. “It turns range anxiety into range comfort,” the company says.
“The EX60 is designed to be a gamechanger. With our new electric vehicle architecture, we directly address the main worries that customers have when considering a switch to a fully electric car. The result is class-leading range and fast charging speeds, marking the end of range anxiety,” said Anders Bell, chief technology officer at Volvo Cars.
The EX60 also charges faster than any electric Volvo before it. The 800V EV with an in-house developed software can add up to 340 km of range in just 10 minutes when using a 400 kW fast charger. Volvo is also promising a 10-year warranty on the EV battery. For context, the ES90‘s max charging rate is 350 kW and the 10 minutes of charging at this rate gets the sedan 300 km.
Volvo says that the key to the EX60’s class-leading range is SPA3, its most advanced electric car architecture to date. Integrating the battery directly into the structure of the car with cell-to-body technology and developing e-motors in-house makes the EX60 more energy efficient and cuts excessive weight. The new cell design of the battery balances energy density and power delivery, further increasing range.
Also, the EX60 is the first Volvo car built with the help of mega casting, whereby hundreds of smaller parts are replaced with a single, high-precision casting in the production process. This reduces weight, which in turn improves range.
We’ll know more about this impressive-sounding EV next week, but it’s certain that the EX60 will be coming to Malaysia in due time. Volvo Car Malaysia (VCM) has sent out a press release with local content, saying “whether you plan to drive from Johor to Perlis, make a trip from Kuala Lumpur to Penang, or travel from Sabah to Sarawak, the new, all-electric Volvo EX60 SUV has your back”.
However, what’s truly around the corner for VCM is the ES90 electric sedan, which will be launched locally this month.
GALLERY: Volvo EX60 teaser images
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