New Volvo EX50 electric SUV on the way to rival Tesla Model Y and Audi Q4 e-tron

Volvo will unleash a new mid-size electric SUV in 2027. The EX50 is a spacious, cutting-edge software-defined vehicle with 800-volt architecture for fast charging and a big range.

The new model will provide the Swedish car maker with a direct rival to the strong-selling Tesla Model Y and Audi Q4 e-tron, while also bridging the gap between the recently updated EX40 and the all-new EX60 in the Volvo portfolio.

Prices are likely to start from just under £50,000, placing the EX50 in the same ballpark as many of the UK’s most popular electric SUV models. 

The new car was originally conceived as the EX40 replacement, at a time when Volvo was hopeful of phasing out combustion models for an all-electric line-up. Current market conditions mean that’s a pipedream, with the revised XC40 and its EX40 sister car soldiering on. 

The EX50’s sub-£50k price (to avoid the luxury car tax) is a significant chunk less than that of the EX60, which starts at around £57,000, while also leaving space for the EX40, which should be pitched just under £40,000, and rival the smaller BMW iX1 and Mercedes GLA.

Volvo has begun communicating the EX50 to investors. On its recent third-quarter financial results call, the firm said the new car would be a “global BEV” positioned beneath the EX60, targeting a “large, lower-priced market segment” in Europe. It is hoped the model will “further strengthen BEV leadership and improve margins”.

Indeed, the maker confirmed that it will reveal three new cars in 2027: “one new car for Europe and two China-specific models”. This forms part of Volvo’s promise to launch 13 new cars before the end of 2030. 

The EX50 will most likely be built in Volvo’s new electric vehicle factory near Košice in Slovakia. The facility has the capacity to build up to 250,000 cars per year, including the closely related Polestar 7 from 2028. The EX60 is manufactured in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Design

The new Volvo will be significantly longer and more spacious than the EX40, which measures 4.4 metres and has a modest 410-litre boot and 2.7m-long wheelbase. Expect the EX50 to measure around 4.6 to 4.7 metres long, to boost cabin and cargo space and accommodate bigger batteries between the wheels.

As for the new car’s design, sources say the EX50 has “a very different character from the EX40” it in effect supersedes. While the original proposal was kicked off under Robin Page, head of global design until 2023, the EX50 is the major project shaped by his short-lived successor Jeremy Offer, who got the Volvo job off the back of his minimalist design at Arrival vans. Offer will have driven Volvo’s current design language – clean surfaces, sharp lines and minimalist visual clutter – forward. Expect a new interpretation of core Volvo design elements, such as the ‘Thor’s Hammer’ headlights and upright rear lights. 

Avarvarii

We think the new model’s overall packaging will be more family-friendly than that of the sleek EX60, with some of that car’s more elegant details dispensed with in favour of more robust elements. This could result in the EX60’s winglet-style door handles being replaced with standard units, plus the use of framed windows and more rugged components such as black plastic on the bumpers.

Inside, the full benefit of Volvo’s new electronic architecture will be put to good use. It will take its lead from the EX60 with a horizontally mounted screen in the centre running Volvo’s latest user interface. This has full Google integration, including an AI-powered voice assistant, and gives users the ability to log in with their personal accounts.

This will replicate a user’s individual Google Maps, for instance, showing any saved or highlighted locations such as favourite restaurants or location information. Crucially, the ‘software-defined vehicle’ nature of the system will allow for major updates throughout the car’s life, unlocking new features or digital tools currently in development. 

While Volvo has signalled a return to physical controls in combination with touchscreens, the EX50 may arrive too early to ride this wave. “We have to listen to our customers and really recognise that how the interaction is in the cars of today is, to say it frankly, not appreciated,” recently returned design boss Thomas Ingenlath told Auto Express. “We have to aim for a better harmony, a better balance, between the interaction that we have with our digital device and the physical interaction.”

Performance and range

The EX50 is all but guaranteed to ride on the firm’s new SPA3 platform shared with the EX60. This new architecture is a big step forward for Volvo, because it’s now truly ‘software defined’, and comes with cutting-edge construction methods such as mega-casting and cell-to-body battery packaging. 

Each of these new technologies offers its own advantages, but fundamentally the aim is to unlock higher range figures, more space for passengers and luggage and deliver improved efficiency compared to models on older platforms, such as the EX40.

The EX50’s batteries will likely reflect the EX60’s range structure, with its base 83kWh and mid-range 95kWh option good for 385 miles and 410 miles respectively. The biggest EX60 battery has 117kWh of gross energy, but the EX50’s wheelbase will be shorter and less accommodating than the 60’s 2.97m. 

We also expect a choice of single and dual-motor powertrains, although it’s unclear whether the battery and motor variations will be fixed in the same way as they are in the EX60; for example, you cannot combine the larger battery with a more efficient single-motor layout.

Super-fast charging up to 400kW is also likely, thanks to the 800V electrical architecture, and we expect slippery aerodynamics to be top of the priority list to squeeze every little bit of efficiency out from the total package.

Rivals

The Volvo’s circa-£50,000 price point will put it right in the crosshairs of Tesla’s Model Y Premium, which costs from £49,990 with a 375-mile range. A lesser ‘base’ Model Y is available at a touch under £45k, but its range is 309 miles, and it hardly feels premium – it’s more Los Angeles ride-share than upmarket family SUV. 

Audi’s new Q4 e-tron is also right in this fight, because it has consistently proven to be one of the highest-selling electric models in the UK since its launch back in 2021. Recently updated with a new interior and more efficient powertrains, the entry-level Q4 is priced from £46,955, but comes with an uncompetitive 264-mile range. Upgrade to the Performance model, though, at around £52,000, and that rises to over 350 miles. 

A glance at the sales charts confirms that BYD will also present a challenge, with its Sealion 7 now the UK’s third best-selling EV. There are also models from mainstream legacy firms, such as VW’s ID.Tiguan and the Nissan Ariya, which will provide competition, too.

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