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Volvo XC90 Will Remain in Production Even After the Unveiling of Its Electric Successor

Even though a fully electric replacement for the Volvo XC90 is on its way (possibly called Embla), the Swedish carmaker isn’t planning on discontinuing its current flagship model as long as there’s still a demand for hybrid vehicles. This means that both models will be on sale at the same time for an indeterminate amount of time.
2022 Volvo XC90 7 photos
Photo: Volvo
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During an interview with Automotive News, Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson confirmed that the gasoline-powered XC90 isn’t going anywhere just yet.

“That’s an advantage of building the new one in Charleston [South Carolina]. Why should we close down the old one in Torslanda [Sweden] when you still have a market for hybrids, especially in America and China,” stated the chief exec.

Not only will Volvo keep the XC90 in production, but they’ll also give it another facelift in a bid to have it look as fresh as possible next to its more advanced successor – by the time the latter breaks cover, the current XC90 would be eight years old, as per Drive.

“We will even look into upgrading it, so it looks a bit better. But technology wise, we’ll invest in the new generation of all-electric cars,” added Samuelsson.

In the United States, buyers can currently purchase two variants of the XC90 in the regular gasoline-powered model (available in T5 FWD / T5 AWD and T6 AWD configurations) and the plug-in hybrid Recharge. The entry-level XC90 T5 FWD retails from $50,900 while the Recharge PHEV variant costs upwards of $64,800.

As for the successor, it’s expected to ride on the carmaker’s new SPA2 platform, which should also underpin the upcoming Polestar 3 crossover, as well as a future full-size SUV that Volvo will eventually throw at the BMW X7 and Mercedes GLS.

Going forward, Volvo expects 50% of its global sales to be battery electric by 2025, before going full electric, as a company, by the end of this decade.
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About the author: Sergiu Tudose
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Sergiu got to experience both American and European car "scenes" at an early age (his father drove a Ford Fiesta XR2 supermini in the 80s). After spending over 15 years at local and international auto publications, he's starting to appreciate comfort behind the wheel more than raw power and acceleration.
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