Volvo is working on an electric alternative to the XC60 based on a next-generation SPA3 EV platform. The crossover, reportedly due in 2026, will be called the EX60. Volvo still expects gas- and plug-in hybrid vehicles to be on sale by 2030.
Volvo has five electric vehicles in the pipeline, and one of them will be a battery-powered alternative to the top-selling XC60.
The vehicle will go by the name EX60, mirroring the strategy of the XC90 and its EX90 electric alternative, and Autocar reported on Thursday that we'll see it arrive in 2026.
The EX60 will be the first vehicle to use a next-generation EV platform that was announced by Volvo on Thursday as the SPA3.
Volvo's current EV platform is the SPA2, which debuted in the EX90. The original SPA platform made its debut a decade ago in the current XC90 and is designed for gas and plug-in hybrid powertrains.
The SPA3 platform will use the same software systems and electrical architecture as the SPA2 platform, what Volvo refers to as the Volvo Cars Superset tech stack. Where the SPA3 will differ is in its improved scalability, enabling it to be used in subcompacts right up to full-size vehicles, Volvo said.
The SPA3 platform is also expected to introduce mega casting, a production process where multiple body structure components are replaced by a single component. Mega casting reduces weight and makes the production process more efficient, and Volvo in 2022 announced plans to introduce the process at its plant Torslanda, Sweden. The plant is currently responsible for the XC60, and Volvo confirmed that SPA3 vehicles will be built at the plant.
Volvo isn't likely to drop the XC60 once the EX60 arrives. The automaker on Wednesday abandoned its plan to only sell EVs by 2030, stating that it now expects to still be selling gas and plug-in hybrid vehicles by that date. That means the XC60 will likely be given design and technology updates to match the EX60, similar to how the XC90 was just updated to sell alongside the EX90.
