Volvo EX90 exterior formally previewed

Volvo has continued to drip-feed us with teasers of the upcoming 2023 Volvo EX90, this time showing off elements of the flagship electric SUV’s sleek exterior and expanding on some of the design’s key elements.

According to its designers, the Volvo EX90’s purpose is to be “an elegant, efficient fully electric family car, with a higher standard of safety than any Volvo car before it”.

Elegant is a phrase that’s cropped up before when referring to the EX90, both in the press materials and general media descriptions of previous teasers, and it seems this elegance will indeed go hand-in-hand with the car’s efficiency, thanks in part to wind-cheating measures including integrated door-handles, flush-sitting window glass, a solid grille, aerodynamic alloy wheels and subtle integration of the lidar sensors.

As previewed by the Volvo Concept Recharge, the EX90’s lidar sensors have been integrated into the roof in a subtle bulge above the windscreen, where it should be safe from debris and minor impacts while still yielding the best possible field of view.

“It was a design challenge to integrate lidar in a way that both looks good and is optimal for its safety applications,” said head of exterior design, T Jon Mayer.

“It’s the car’s eyes, and while you could have them around the grille area – which would be equivalent to having eyes on your knees – it makes much more sense to have them as high as possible on your head so you can see as much as possible.”

Volvo is quoting a drag coefficient of 0.29Cd, which is good for a large SUV that, in this case, will be sold alongside a facelifted version of the existing Volvo XC90 seven-seater.

Accompanying the close-ups of the body was a pair of blurred wide-angle teaser images showcasing the EX90’s front and rear lighting signatures, both of which align with unofficial renders, the aforementioned concept car and the closely related Polestar 3.

“We’ve taken inspiration from yacht design to outline the Volvo EX90’s beautiful and sleek proportions,” Mayer said.

“If you look at the front, it’s proud and confident – inspired by a sailboat’s ability to shear through the ocean’s slamming waves.

“But it’s also rounder overall, which enables the air to flow around the car more efficiently.”

The Volvo EX90 will make its global debut on November 9 in Stockholm.

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