Volvo is close to unveiling an updated version of its XC90 three-row midsize SUV.
Though the automaker has just launched an electric alternative in the form of the 2025 EX90, the gas- and plug-in hybrid-powered XC90 will stick around, possibly even beyond Volvo's previously announced cutoff date of 2030 for vehicles equipped with a gas engine.
The updated XC90, which will likely be introduced to the U.S. as a 2026 model, will be revealed on Sept. 4 in a live-streamed event where the automaker will also make an announcement regarding the EX90. The event will feature a “substantially refreshed XC90 and mark a big moment in the launch of the EX90,” the automaker said on Wednesday.
The EX90 electric three-row midsize debuted in the fall of 2022 and is finally due to start deliveries in the U.S. later this year, with a higher than expected starting price and some features missing. Production is underway at Volvo's South Carolina factory.
The current XC90 started sales in 2015, marking a big step forward for Volvo in design and boasting a sophisticated plug-in hybrid powertrain alongside more conventional gasoline options. The XC90 plug-in hybrid is expected to be included with the update—and will likely play a big role in Volvo's electrification plans.
Volvo has pledged to sell only electric vehicles by 2030, but in an announcement of the automaker's second-quarter financial results last month, CEO Jim Rowan acknowledged that 48-volt mild hybrids and plug-in hybrids are an ideal bridging technology for customers not ready to make a switch to an EV, and that Volvo will continue to invest in the technology.
Volvo currently has several plug-in hybrids—including the XC90—in its U.S. lineup, and dealers expect to continue selling them beyond 2030, Automotive News reported last month. One dealer source told the industry trade journal that that dealers will have to continue doing this "or we will die."
While the EX90 fills the same niche as the XC90, but with a battery-electric powertrain, Volvo had planned to continue selling the current XC90 after the EX90's introduction to ease the EV transition—and the updates Volvo will unveil next month should help in extending its shelf life.
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