A Volvo EX90 Zero Emissions Truck Isn’t Necessarily Futile, Considering Its Rivals

Alas, for now, the Swedish automaker is not in any hurry to bring it to the United States market. As such, its range still consists of gas, hybrid, and electric models that include the outgoing XC90 flagship! Well, it’s never cool when carmakers announce a new model and then wear out their fans with tardiness. Especially since the battery-powered mid-size luxury SUV is the first dedicated EV to be sold by the Volvo brand and its production will be localized in the United States at the Ridgeville, South Carolina-based manufacturing facility.

Previewed in the summer of 2021 by the Volvo Concept Recharge, the EX90 was previously rumored to sport the ‘Embla’ moniker before settling on a variation of the XC90 nameplate. It is a kindred spirit to the Polestar 3 model with genuinely nice features, such as a drag coefficient of 0.29, a CATL-produced big batter of 111 kWh (107 kWh net), and, thanks to 250-kW DC charging capabilities, it can jump from 10 to 80% SoC (state-of-charge) in as little as half an hour.

So, folks could be wondering – what is with the slowness in hitting the market to fight off the Audi Q8 e-tron, BMW iX, Tesla Model X, and more EV crossover SUVs? Well, if it were up to the imaginative realm of digital car content creators, maybe that would have to do with the desire to develop an entire model family based on the fresh EV underpinnings. And, interestingly, most visions feature the likes of an alternate pickup truck lifestyle – both of the Ute and regular four-door Crew Cab variety.

Well, a coupe-utility Volvo EX90 seems a bit futile, frankly, since America loves the family-oriented four-doors more. As such, the virtual artist tucked behind the Theottle moniker on social media has decided that some CGI slicing and dicing of the latest Volvo into making it a proper EV truck contender should involve a unibody architecture (the pickup template was snatched from a Honda Ridgeline) and regular four-door proportions.

Interestingly, the hypothetical Volvo EX90 pickup truck features different dimensions compared to the EX90 crossover SUV, with the former getting a digital extension of the wheelbase plus way larger rear overhangs to accommodate sizeable bed conversions. In the end, some would say that a premium pickup truck from Volvo might be useless, considering the failure of the Mercedes X Class and the fate of models like the Cadillac Escalade EXT.

But frankly, the EV pickup truck segment might be more open for such ritzy business, considering the high markups of the likes of the GMC Hummer EV, Rivian R1T, and even the Ford F-150 Lightning. Plus, who knows, maybe the upcoming Chevy Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV, Ram 1500 REV, and the forever-late Tesla Cybertruck might use the practice of seeing the Scandinavian luxury truck duke it out with them at the workplace or campsite! Besides, the pixel master is also a fan of such transformations – especially considering the cool Kia EV9 pickup truck we virtually saw take flight just a couple of weeks ago!