Photo: Polestar
While we still wonder if the Volvo Embla will have massive castings, the Swedish carmaker already has more news to share, even if not on purpose. Automotive News learned that the company plans to manufacture a new EV in Ridgeville. Volvo’s new electric car would sit between the XC60 and XC90 in size and is so far known only by its codename: V546.
The new EV – probably another electric SUV – will be manufactured over the SPA2 platform that Volvo will reveal with the Embla, the XC90 replacement. Production in Ridgeville should start by early 2025, but the new model will not be made only in the U.S.
Automotive News also learned that the new EV would have an estimated annual output of 100,000 units, 40% of which will be made in its American plant. Torslanda could be a candidate for producing it after the SEK10 billion ($1,093 billion) investment there, but it would not be in Volvo’s plans for this vehicle.
The V546 will also be manufactured in China, in a factory that was either not disclosed by Automotive News sources or is yet to be built, which would not be surprising to anyone aware of how things move fast in the Chinese market.
The V546 production in China will aim at the domestic market and also some exports. All units made in the Ridgeville factory should stay in North America. In other words, American, Canadian, and Mexican customers will have 40,000 of this new EV to buy every year if things go as planned.
Being an intermediate between the XC60 and XC90 makes sense, considering it is an electric vehicle, especially if it is an SUV. The Recharge Concept and the Embla already showed that Volvo would turn its SUVs into longer vehicles to make them more aerodynamically friendly. In lower vehicles, the only option to accommodate passengers more comfortably is to make them longer.
We’ll probably have a concept car anticipating the V546 a while before it gets its official premiere. Now we have to discover how Volvo will call it: the Embla will start a new naming strategy at the company, without letters or numbers.
Automotive News also learned that the new EV would have an estimated annual output of 100,000 units, 40% of which will be made in its American plant. Torslanda could be a candidate for producing it after the SEK10 billion ($1,093 billion) investment there, but it would not be in Volvo’s plans for this vehicle.
The V546 will also be manufactured in China, in a factory that was either not disclosed by Automotive News sources or is yet to be built, which would not be surprising to anyone aware of how things move fast in the Chinese market.
The V546 production in China will aim at the domestic market and also some exports. All units made in the Ridgeville factory should stay in North America. In other words, American, Canadian, and Mexican customers will have 40,000 of this new EV to buy every year if things go as planned.
Being an intermediate between the XC60 and XC90 makes sense, considering it is an electric vehicle, especially if it is an SUV. The Recharge Concept and the Embla already showed that Volvo would turn its SUVs into longer vehicles to make them more aerodynamically friendly. In lower vehicles, the only option to accommodate passengers more comfortably is to make them longer.
We’ll probably have a concept car anticipating the V546 a while before it gets its official premiere. Now we have to discover how Volvo will call it: the Embla will start a new naming strategy at the company, without letters or numbers.
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