The idea of a luxury MPV might seem strange but this niche has a strong following in China where Lexus sells the LM to compete with the Buick GL8. Volvo wants a piece of the action with the EM90. However, it won't directly rival those two high-end family haulers since it'll eschew combustion engines in favour of an electric powertrain. Teased a few days ago prior to a 12 November debut, here's how the very first Volvo MPV could look.
Although a speculative rendering, this design exercise is not a shot in the dark either. It takes after the official teaser video and also draws heavily from the Zeekr 009 upon which the EM90's is supposedly based. Accountants would argue it's not feasible for Volvo to develop a new MPV from scratch, especially since the customer base is unlikely to be large seeing as how people continue to flock to SUVs.
By sitting underneath the massive Geely corporate umbrella, the Swedish brand has access to readily available hardware. The preview provided last week strongly suggested the large and boxy body will be essentially carried over but with typical Volvo design DNA. It should look far less striking than the Zeekr 009 after tweaking the lights and front grille.
Fitted with sliding doors on both sides, the 2024 Volvo EM90 is expected to offer a three-row cabin although it's not hard to imagine an ultra-luxury version with two-row seating featuring individual rear seats. Geely's Sustainable Experience Architecture is likely to underpin the MPV, which promises to deliver the sensation of a "Scandinavian living room on the move."
Seeing as how the model gets the "90" designation, it's going to be on the large side. That's hardly a surprise considering the Zeekr 009 is 5,200 millimetres (205 inches) long, 2,030 mm (80 in) wide, and 1,880 mm (74 in) tall, while carrying around a wheelbase stretching at a stately 3,200 mm (126 in). Geely's other posh brand sells its MPV with 2+2+2 and 2+2 layouts.
Volvo doesn't plan to sell the EM90 in the United States. It's also not coming to Europe where Lexus has surprisingly decided to bring the second-generation LM. However, a company spokesperson told Automotive News other markets are being considered outside of China.
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Sources: Kolesa, Automotive News