New Volvo EX50 to mix EX60 tech with ‘lower price’ from 2027
Volvo is looking to bridge the gap between EX40 and EX60 with a new global BEV built in Europe
Volvo has announced plans to introduce its “next global BEV car” as early as next year. The covers are set to come off in the summer, before sales start soon after.
Expected to make its debut as the first-ever Volvo EX50, the new model will provide the maker with a rival to the big-selling Tesla Model Y, while bridging the gap between the recently updated EX40 and the all-new EX60. Volvo’s hi-tech BMW iX3 rival began production in the spring.
The maker is keeping its cards close to its chest, but an announcement made in its Q3 Financial Results call said the new variant would be a “global BEV” designed to sit underneath the EX60, targeting a “large, lower-priced market segment” in Europe. It is hoped the model will “further strengthen BEV leadership and improve margins”.
With the EX40 having been granted a series of life-extending enhancements this year, it’s understood there are no plans to cease production of that car in the short to medium term. Whether the new EX50 eventually supersedes the EX40 remains to be seen.
Little else is known about the new model, although it forms part of Volvo’s promise to launch 13 new cars before the end of 2030. The maker confirmed that, in 2027, it will reveal “three of these new cars: one new car for Europe and two China-specific models”.
The mooted EX50 is all but guaranteed to ride on the firm’s new SPA3 platform shared with the latest EX60. This means a cutting-edge 800-volt architecture, a choice of battery sizes and possibly as much as 500 miles of range. Super-fast charging up to 400kW is also possible.
To differentiate itself from the EX40 and EX60 – both of which are currently available to buy or lease through the Auto Express Buy A Car service – the EX50 will need to measure around 4.6 to 4.7 metres long, possibly with a sloping roofline and a desirable coupé-SUV look. If that is the case, we can expect the interior packaging to be affected, though the EV-specific platform should help mitigate any legroom issues in the rear.
The future 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 Polestar 7 from 2028. The EX60 is currently manufactured in Gothenburg, Sweden.
That aforementioned “lower price” will mean the EX50 should cost less than £57,000; the starting price of the rear-wheel-drive EX60 P6. There’s a chance Volvo may even look to bring the car to the UK for under £50,000 – thereby avoiding the £440 luxury car-tax surcharge applicable for years two to six of the car’s life.
Among the other new variants planned by Volvo is a flagship Range Rover rival for the US, plus the possibility of a new era of sleek, spacious estate cars. Hybrid models are also likely, based on the old SPA2 platform featured on the older XC60 and XC90 – both of which were recently updated with up to 124 miles of EV range.
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