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News - Volvo - EX60Volvo’s high hopes for new and updated BEVsBroader Volvo BEV line-up nears, EX60 medium SUV expected to be brand’s best-seller6 Oct 2025 VOLVO Car Australia’s most crucial new model in potentially generations – the EX60 electric mid-sized SUV – will be revealed globally on 21 January, setting the blueprint for what the brand expects will become its best-selling model here and in a multitude of global markets once production capacity hits full speed.
Slated to arrive Down Under in the middle of 2026, the EX60 will debut a heavily revised 800-volt platform architecture (dubbed SPA3) which is expected to enable an electric range of more than 700km and a 10-80 per cent charging time of less than 20 minutes.
It will join the segment-straddling ES90 large electric sedan and ruggedised Cross Country version of the EX30 small electric SUV in Volvo’s local battery electric vehicle line-up, along with an incoming technological update to the EX90 large electric SUV that launched here in March this year.
Speaking to GoAuto at the Australian reveal of the ES90 and EX30 Cross Country, Volvo Car Australia managing director Stephen Connor said he expects the EX60 to overtake the now eight-year-old (and recently updated) XC60 as its sales leader some time in 2027 or 2028.
“I think that (EX60) will outsell the XC60, because what people will see is the new style of Volvo," said Mr Connor, clarifying that the newcomer’s shift to brand pole position "won’t be in its first year, but in a calendar year”.
“The (electric) range will be a lot higher and better than what we’ve seen today, and I think people will start to go ‘actually now it makes sense to go to a fully electric car’. I’m really not just hoping – I think the EX60 will be our next best-selling car in Australia,” he enthused.
“It’s on the SPA3 platform, so it’s the next generation from the SPA2 (that underpins the EX90 and ES90). It’s not a new platform – it’s the next (developmental) generation of the SPA2.
“We won’t get the EX60 until about July (2026). And even when we do get that car, it will be in small volumes for the first half of the year, because obviously it’s just in launch for us. And then the next year (2027) is when you start seeing volumes,” he said.
Initial EX60 production allocation for the Australian market will be around 250 units for 2026, with ten times that in 2027 as global supply ramps up.
“It’s a family SUV in that (hugely popular mid-sized electric) segment, and that’s why the EX60 would do really, really well,” said Mr Connor.
“We’re really excited about EX60. We think it will revolutionise the way (our) customers will think. So not only have you got the XC60 mild hybrid (and plug-in hybrid), you’ll have a pure electric EX60. And because the styling I’ve seen is beautiful, I think people will naturally migrate across to that.
“For us as well, what we will start to see is the new look of Volvo. I think that styling is amazing – we love it,” said Mr Connor.
As for the just-launched ES90 electric sedan, Volvo is adamant that the initial two-variant, rear-wheel-drive line-up offered in Australia will fulfill market demands, given the limited size of the large electric sedan segment it competes in (2500 units per annum).
“We have the ability to take the (ES90) AWD in the future, if we want to,” said Mr Connor – the Dual-Motor Performance version of which packs 500kW/870Nm, does 0-100km/h in 4.0 seconds and has 700km of WLTP range.
The rear-drive Australian ES90s are single-motor variants with 245kW/480Nm, a 0-100km/h claim of 6.6s and a WLTP range claim of 650km.
“We know this segment is really competitive, so we will see how (ES90) goes. If there’s enough demand, by all means we will bring it in, but there’s no point bringing in the (ES90 AWD) if you’re only selling 100-odd cars a year,” he said.
“We will analyse the market and see what happens but there’s no point having three variants in this segment. The (large electric sedan) segment is still a small segment so we have to be very careful. You have to fish where the fish are right?
“That’s not to say we won’t do it (an ES90 Dual Motor Performance). It’s to say from launch, we’re only able to take a certain model from launch anyway because the factory is starting to build up in terms of volume. So we take a certain variant, which is the launch car (the first batch are all ES90 Ultras), and then we decide what we do there afterwards,” he said.
Australia will receive about 40 ES90s between now and Christmas – predominantly made up of press cars, with Volvo dealers each getting an example as a demonstrator.
Customer deliveries will follow, though both variants are already available to order – the Plus Single Motor ($88,880 before on-road costs) and the Ultra Single Motor ($107,990).
Volvo Australia has also introduced the EX30 Cross Country ($69,990) – the first time that iconic variant name has been applied to an SUV – which effectively replaces the Ultra Dual Motor at the top of the EX30 line-up.
With a slightly increased ride height, a dedicated ‘Off-Road’ drive mode and a bunch of available accessories, Volvo expects the Cross Country to account for around 30 per cent of EX30 sales.
Also coming in 2026 is a revised EX90 range, upgraded to the 800-volt SPA2 architecture that debuted in the ES90 sedan for significant gains in charging speed as well as acceleration, energy efficiency, heat reduction and weight reduction.
The upgraded EX90 will also feature an electrochromic panoramic roof that can be turned opaque in harsh sunlight, plus improved safety, collision avoidance and driver support features, and faster processing speeds.
Owners of 2025 EX90s will also receive an offer of a free upgrade of their car’s core computer to the same dual Nvidia Drive AGX Orin-based core computer as the new 800-volt EX90.
For MY26, the 800-volt Twin Motor EX90 loses 29kg in weight, now produces 330kW/670Nm (up from 300kW) and sprints from 0-100km/h in a claimed 5.5sec (down 0.4sec). It also offers 622km of WLTP range and takes just 22 minutes to charge from 10 to 80 per cent (compared to 30 minutes in the 400-volt model).
The ballsier Twin Motor Performance increases outputs to 500kW/870Nm (as per the 800-volt ES90 Performance, up from 380kW), drops its 0-100km/h time to 4.2sec (down 0.7sec) and has the same range and charge-speed data as the regular EX90 Twin Motor.
Volvo Australia said a rear-wheel-drive variant of the EX90 remains “under investigation” though it didn’t elaborate on the likelihood of its introduction.
In MY26 form, the 245kW/480Nm Single Motor EX90 manages 0-100km/h in 6.8sec (down from 8.4sec for the less powerful MY25 version), WLTP range of 572km and a 10-80 per cent charge in the same 22 minutes as more powerful 800-volt EX90s.  Read more6th of October 2025  Market Insight: Volvo upbeat amid sales slideVolvo Car Australia optimistic that wave of new BEVs will reverse recent sales slump6th of October 2025  Volvo’s high hopes for new and updated BEVsBroader Volvo BEV line-up nears, EX60 medium SUV expected to be brand’s best-seller5th of September 2025  EX30 Cross Country takes Volvo off beaten trackVolvo continues Cross Country lineage with $70K rugged AWD version of EX30 small SUV29th of August 2025  Volvo prices ES90 for AustraliaUnique in segment Volvo ES90 electric crossover priced from $88,880 + ORC23rd of June 2025  Volvo updates popular XC60 SUV rangeImproved tech, comfort, and design for refreshed Volvo XC60 line-up, prices up by $1000 |
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