Why Volvo Sees Its New 2027 EX60 EV as a Game-Changing SUV

The 2027 Volvo EX60 has started rolling off the line at Volvo’s Torslanda plant in Gothenburg, Sweden, with huge expectations riding on its 22-inch wheels and so much initial interest that the automaker is already expanding production.

It’s setting up to be a game changer for the brand, Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson said of the midsize electric luxury crossover that plays in the same large D-segment in Europe as the Volvo XC60 plug-in hybrid, which at present is the second-best seller in that segment after the Volkswagen Passat. Samuelsson believes that the one-two punch of the EX60 and XC60 will be a driver for Volvo even in markets like the U.S.

Volvo opened the order books for the EX60 in January in Europe, after its global reveal in Stockholm. Chief Commercial Officer Erik Severinson said he was blown away by the initial reception. “We have sold so much we are already looking into increasing the total production before any customer has even had a chance to drive the car,” he said. “I never experienced that before; so many people buying a car they have never actually driven. That gives me a lot of hope.”

Our first ride in the 2027 Volvo EX60 that goes on sale soon.Daniel Ahlgren – MotorTrend

The EX60 with almost 400 miles of range goes on sale this summer in Europe and the U.S., starting with the base P6 (369 horsepower) and the 503-hp P10 models, with the 670-hp P12 expected to follow in November.

Orders are coming in hot and are ahead of expectations in Europe, where it is seen as a no-compromise family car on price parity with the XC60. It was important to Volvo that customers not have to pay more for the EV version of the XC60. The goal is price parity in the U.S. too, but geopolitical issues could make that difficult. As for U.S. pricing, Volvo said it will be released soon, as will the ability to order one. The EX60 will be available in Ultra and Ultra Plus trim levels this year. For the 2028 model year, Volvo will add a Cross Country to keep the lineup fresh.

Torslanda can produce 300,000 cars a year. It’s building the EX60, which is on the SPA3 architecture and built on the same line as the XC60 and XC90, using the same body, paint, and final assembly lines. But the EV uses megacasting and an in-house battery shop to make the pack that becomes the floor of the vehicle, and there’s also a separate shop for the e-motor which comes from a nearby plant.

Will the all-electric Volvo EX60 prove as popular as the XC60?MotorTrend – MotorTrend

Popular as the Volvo XC60?

Can the EX60 repeat the success of the XC60? “Absolutely,” said Samuelsson. The XC60 plug-in hybrid and EX60 battery electric can both be leaders in the same size segment. He also welcomes competition from new cars from Mercedes and BMW. “A lot of people will look at electric cars in this segment. It is good to not be alone.”

Why pick the EX60 over the impressive new Mercedes-Benz GLC or BMW iX3? Samuelsson said the technical performance of the Volvo is at the same level or better; the EX60 has tasteful clean Scandinavian design that isn’t overloaded with gadgets; and Volvo is billing it as the safest car on the planet.

Volvo says it has fixed its software issues.MotorTrend

But is the Software Up to Snuff?

Software has been something of Achilles heel for Volvo lately. Bugs plagued the launch of the EX30 and the large EX90. The EX60 is a crucial model, a software-defined vehicle using the automaker’s HuginCore (Huginn means thought, named after one of the ravens of the Norse god Odin) central software system with a new tech stack.

Samuelsson is confident the software is on point now. There are only two kinds of automakers in the world, he said, those who have had painful software experiences that are now behind them, and those who still have them in front of them. “We are good to have it behind us,” he said.

Having control of the software allows Volvo to develop the car and its features faster and make changes rapidly, without having to call the suppliers of the 100 control units littered throughout the vehicle to manage assorted functions. Volvo said it can now make the changes itself, quickly, speeding development time.

There is more code in today’s vehicles than a jet fighter.Daniel Ahlgren – MotorTrend

Freaking Hard

Getting to this point wasn’t easy. You can’t just hire hundreds of software engineers off the street to magically write the code for a two-ton object moving down the street. Automotive applications these days require more code than a fighter jet. In addition, everything had to be built from scratch, the software itself needed to be low cost, high volume, and super reliable, and finally, it all needed to be seamless to the customer. “It is freaking hard,” Bell said. Automakers used to outsource most of this work in the past and then make sure all the black boxes from suppliers communicated. “Everything had its own little software universe and we made sure they can talk to each other,” he added.

Moving Volvo’s entire software division and majority of the coding in-house was a massive shift, according to Bell. “We’re through now and starting to polish the diamond.” Others in the industry are trying to do this as well and many have had to retreat and find a new solution after investing billions. “We are lucky to be small enough to be nimble and have limited bandwidth of product to cover but are big enough to put in the resources it takes,” he said. “We did our mistakes. Learned a lot.”

Older Volvos will get the same infotainment layout as the EX90.MotorTrend – MotorTrend

Third-Party Validation

Volvo’s efforts have been validated by S&P Global Mobility, which rated it Level 5 SDV capability, the highest ranking. It’s the only legacy automaker in the world to achieve it.

“Volvo cars in 2026 has more in common with Apple than it has with Volvo cars in 1998,” Bell said. “All our development is a software-first discussion. All new cars come from one new software master. We configure it to run as it should in different products.”

Some of the advances are retroactive. About 2.2 million XC60, XC40, and XC90 vehicles built since 2020 will get an overhaul of their HMI layout, similar to the current EX90 and new EX60. Google assistant will also be replaced with Google Gemini conversational AI. Because Volvo was the first company to launch with Google back in 2020, it has a long-standing partnership with the tech giant and continues to lead with Gemini conversational AI. As a result, a lot of Google’s present development happens in Volvos, Bell said.