2023 Volvo EX30 to target Gen Z

Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan has confirmed the upcoming 2023 Volvo EX30 will not only be revealed but also launched globally next year – and that the pint-size electric SUV will be pivotal in gaining sales traction with Gen Z.

The news emerged from an interview with Automotive News Europe this week, when the EX30 nameplate and Chinese production were also apparently confirmed.

Volvo is reportedly aiming to sell 1.2 million cars annually worldwide by 2025, roughly half of which are expected to be battery-electric.

Rowan said the EX30 will be a major contributor to that cause, in part thanks to what will be extremely competitive pricing and a focus on a whole new sales demographic for the Scandinavian brand.

“Everybody talks about the price of EVs and how they are outside the reach of certain people,” he said. “This car allows us to reach a different price demographic.

“They still want top safety equipment, a fantastic ride and high quality, but it will be in a smaller format, so we can take out some cost.

“We can also take out cost by offering it with different battery sizes so a customer can choose the range that best fits their lifestyle and their budget,” Rowan told ANE.

“Since we will offer the small SUV on a subscription basis via Care by Volvo, it will be available to a wider audience because this option allows a person to buy into the brand on a consumption basis with a three-month minimum commitment.

“This will bring us a much younger demographic who will buy online … it’s that Gen Z person who is 18, 19 years old and coming into the car market for the first time.

“What is also a big thing with that demographic is that they genuinely care about the authenticity of the brand's sustainability story.”

If the recently revealed Volvo EX90 is anything to go by, the much smaller EX30 will be awash with sustainably sourced and manufactured materials, but it’s unlikely we’ll see it in local showrooms before 2024 or even 2025. carsales has contacted Volvo Cars Australia for confirmation.

The bigger EX90 isn’t expected to arrive Down Under until “late 2024” given Australia is a ‘deep water’ market for Volvo and the fact Chinese production of the flagship electric SUV isn’t starting until roughly the middle of next year.

Initial examples will be produced in the US, whereas the EX30 will be produced in China from the get-go, as confirmed by Rowan.

“The EX30 will be manufactured in China so that's going to keep those factories pretty busy,” he said.

The Volvo EX90 nameplate has been thrown around in the media ever since the sub-XC40 model was teased early last month, but until now it hadn’t publicly been referred to by Volvo.

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