I somehow thought the launch of the car was next week, I see it was this week.
I thought I'd wait for it but my ICE started giving me mechanical issues that weren't being resolved. With this and the BMW iX3 being around a year away from my local market, I ended up getting a PHEV X5.
The Volvo looks shorter than the XC60, looks more like a station wagon than an SUV. I'm only on my 3rd car so I don't have experience/knowledge to understand what people mean when they say Volvo is no longer what it was.
On the 'coffee shop charging', I don't really prioritise quick charges because when I make trips long enough to require pit stops, those stops are normally a chance for the kids to play and eat.
Performance-wise, I don't mind 0-100 in the 4-5 seconds range. I test drove the EX30 and accelerate sharply from a stop. My wife complained about the whiplash, so I imagine it would be dangerous to restless toddlers, as they already complain about the X5.
Lastly, V2L is welcome, the range is good (for me) for the battery sizes, but it looks like the iX3 would be a better car for the larger battery. Tangentially, BMW claimed that the iX3 would set a new benchmark in EV efficiency, yet Volvo is claiming similar ranges with a 10% smaller battery.
It's unfortunate many people will be hauling around all of that battery for no reason.
Charging time, range and battery lifetime are two of the commonest reasons people do not want to get EV. 400 mile range, 10 minute charging and a 10 year warranty on the battery go a long way towards fixing these.
Personally I find the unavailability of more widespread fast chargers the main issue, especially on roadtrips.
It is just a badge. No Volvo anymore, sadly...
They still have an office and engineers in Sweden, right?
They do. Some are still designed/engineered here in Sweden. Some are not. I don’t know about this one.
All trucks, boats, excavators etc. are still Swedish though.
Designed and made in Sweden. Geely also produces Volvo designs in China also, but they try to keep all the R&D in Sweden to take advantage of what they actually paid for. Polestar is much of the same, although I think it has more Chinese influences.
Also Geely are trying to sell Volvo (and Polestar) so further integration s unlikely.
That was some rumor that was circulating for a short while, but it's unsubstantiated. Polestar just got a 600 million dollar loan from Geely too.
Some people have even speculated that it's Volvo that wants to go independent, but comments from the returning, unretired CEO that they want to do more sharing of tech makes that less likely.
It is produced in Sweden.
The EX60 has been developed and is constructed in Sweden.
Wait what. As someone who has loved Volvo I could use more context
Volvo cars (not AB Volvo, the trucks, boats, and excavators maker) was sold to Ford and then to Chinese Geely. A lot of modern Volvo cars are therefore designed and engineered elsewhere to various degrees. Some are even wholly designed and produced in China. Others are not. I’ve heard this new one is more on the Swedish side. Even the motor is supposedly made here, at-least for the once produced in Gothenburg.
Interesting. I caught some heat on here the other day for suggesting western consumers would likely be averse to Chinese made vehicles, but the sentiment in this thread seems to only reinforce that.