New Volvo EM90 electric MPV leaked: return of the boxy Volvo

The first pictures of the all-new Volvo EM90 have surfaced online, spoiling the surprise for the luxury electric MPV’s big reveal on 12 November. 

The images, along with some very basic technical details, were published by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) as part of the homologation process every car must go through in order to be sold there.  

The two rather unflattering pictures of Volvo’s first-ever MPV shows the EM90 features the brand's signature ‘Thor’s hammer’ headlights, as well as the traditional Volvo badge and chrome stripe across a blanked-off grille. It’s also got a proper bonnet, rather than the sloping nose of MPVs of old, although whether or not a ‘frunk’ lies beneath remains a mystery. 

Other details we can pick out include cut-outs in the A-pillars to help with visibility, similar alloy wheels to those featured on Volvo’s new flagship seven-seat EX90 SUV, and the position of the rear door handles alongside the front ones means the EM90 will have proper MPV-style sliding doors for easy entry and exit.

The EM90’s shape is as boxy as you’d expect an MPV from makers of the 240 estate car to be, while the flat rear end gets an enormous set of split tail-lights that extends onto the tailgate, with equally large Volvo lettering in the centre.

According to the MIIT filing, the EM90 measures 5,206mm long, 2,024mm wide and 1,859mm tall, and has a 3205mm wheelbase, which for context means it’s about the same size as a long-wheelbase Range Rover. The EM90 won’t be able to fat shame any luxury SUVs either, as it weighs 2,763kg with nothing and no-one on-board.

To propel the corpulent machine and all its many occupants, the EM90 detailed in the filing uses a 268bhp electric motor. It also has a top speed of 112mph, though we expect it’ll take a long time to get there. No 0-62mph time has been revealed yet.

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No range estimates were included in the filing either, but we suspect the EM90 sits on the same platform as the Zeekr 009 – a luxury six-seater MPV sold in China. You might not have heard of the brand Zeekr before, but both it and Volvo are owned by automotive giant Geely, so the two sharing tech makes sense.

The Zeekr 009 is powered by a gargantuan 140kWh battery that allows for a range of up to 511 miles on China’s CLTC test cycle, so the EM90 could boast a similar figure. The Zeekr 009 also uses two electric motors for all-wheel drive and 0-62mph in 4.5 seconds, leaving the door open for a peppier dual-motor EM90.

We’ve yet to have a look inside the EM90, but Volvo has previously said the electric luxury MPV will be like “a Scandinavian living room on the move”, and “a place where you can connect with your loved ones, create, relax, work or just think.” We expect the EM90 will feature a tech-filled and very minimalist cabin design, similar to the EX90 and compact EX30.

Order books for the Volvo EM90 are set to open on the same day it’s unveiled, but only for customers in China. It’s unclear whether or not Volvo’s first MPV will come to the UK, but we wouldn’t rule it out as the new Lexus LM MPV just launched here and has reportedly gone down a storm. A new Mercedes EQV is also heading our way in 2024, which would serve as a direct rival to the EM90, along with the Maxus Mifa 9.

Volvo’s UK line-up is currently composed exclusively of SUVs, after the brand chose to discontinue its V60 and V90 estate cars, and their S60 and S90 saloon siblings.

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