Volvo reveals preliminary details about its upcoming flagship electric sedan, internally referred to as the V551 and anticipated to be named ES90 when it is launched in 2025.
A photograph and specifications issued by the Swedish automaker’s board indicate that production of the Audi A6, BMW i5 and Mercedes-Benz EQE rival will commence in May 2024 at a factory belonging to Volvo parent company Geely in Cixi near Shanghai, China.
In the photograph (below), Volvo’s production team is gathered around signs reading “Volvo Cars V551 First VP Car Celebration” and “Confidential Top Secret.”
“VP” is an automotive industry term for “Verification Prototype.”
The ES90 is expected to be built on Volvo’s SPA2 platform, the same structure used by the EX90 and Polestar 4 CUVs. It is designed to accommodate electric drivetrains at 400 or 800 volts.
Specifications hint at the new range-topping Volvo model offering options for single-motor rear-wheel-drive and dual-motor all-wheel-drive configurations.
The battery capacity is 111 kWh (107 kWh usable), providing an estimated range of 373 miles (600 km) with the single motor, rear-wheel-drive setup.
According to Volvo, the ES90 measures 196.8 ins. (4,999 mm) long, 60.9 ins. (1,547 mm) tall and 76.6 ins. (1,946 mm) wide, making it shorter, taller, and wider than the BMW i5 by 2.4 ins. (61 mm), 1.2 in. (30 mm) and 1.8 in. (46 mm), respectively. The wheelbase is also reported to be 4.1 ins. (104 mm) longer than its electric German sedan rival at 122.0 ins. (3,099 mm).
