Pint-size Volvo EX30 electric SUV teased

Volvo has wasted no time in teasing the next member of its fast-growing battery-electric SUV family – a small electric SUV that’s expected to be called the EX30 and will be revealed in 2023.

The preview came in the form of a cameo in the dying seconds of the Volvo EX90’s global reveal yesterday, showing a much smaller SUV alongside the new-generation electric SUV flagship in a flickering sequence, along with some cryptic ‘2023’ text.

Going by the diminutive size of the mystery vehicle, we expect it to be Volvo’s first entry into the increasingly popular light SUV segment and an upmarket competitor to the recently teased Ford Puma EV.

Given the Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric and sleek new Volvo C40 are already positioned within the small SUV segment, odds are the smaller new SUV will revive the ‘30’ nomenclature – most likely preceded by ‘EX’ because it’s an SUV and wears the same rear lighting signature as the EX90.

The emergence of the Volvo EX30 means Volvo is book-ending its flourishing electric SUV portfolio with two bespoke models and will soon offer dedicated EVs in three of the four major SUV segments.

Volvo hasn’t given us any insight as to the new model’s mechanical make-up or styling beyond what we can see in the clip, but odds are it will ride on a shrunken version of the EX90’s purpose-built battery-electric architecture and carry many of the same styling cues.

“Before we bring this evening to a close, perhaps we could take one last look at the EX90, and if you look really closely, perhaps you’ll see something else,” Volvo CEO Jim Rowan said in the lead-up to the EX30’s cameo.

“But that… that is for another day.”

Some have speculated the mystery model to be the mid-size Volvo ‘EX60’ but the size difference between it and the EX90 is too great for this to be the case, even with the offset camera angle.

The solid C-pillar solidifies the vehicles’ identity as a light or small SUV, however, the two segments often overlap in terms of dimensions and the size and outputs of powertrains are often the defining factor.

With this in mind, the EX30 will more than likely launch with a single-motor powertrain as opposed to the formidable dual-motor set-ups offered from launch here in both the C40 and XC40 EVs.

Even if the EX30 does end up packing two motors instead of one, there’s little chance of the entry-level offering worrying the bigger XC40 or C40 Recharge models for firepower.

Volvo Car Australia recently announced it would sell only battery-electric vehicles by 2026 (four years sooner than its parent company) and so the chances of the EX30 – and the EX60 that will follow it by 18 to 24 months – being sold Down Under are strong in a market that shows no sign of reducing its demand for SUVs.

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