These models are less boxy and have a lower roofline.
Autocar almost a year ago, Hakan Samuelsson, the departing CEO, spoke out about plans to eliminate some S and V model in order to focus more effort towards SUVs. He stated that more than 75% of the company’s sales were represented by an XC model. Fast forward almost a year, and the head honcho talked with British journalists again about the fate regular cars.
Even though the XC60 was a more popular model than the S60 / V60, S90 / V90 and / V60 in the first quarter of last year, the Geely-owned marque will not abandon sedans or SUVs. The next-generation S and V models will have a more appealing stance and sleeker shapes. These low cars will complement our high-positioned SUVs. Keep watching.”
He said that successors to today’s sedans and wagons would be “a little more square” in order to increase drag coefficient and boost efficiency. The Vision HTMLXXX concept, which boasts a Cd of 0.17, will also be launching Mercedes. Jim Rowan, ex-CEO of Dyson Group, will replace the Volvo CEO in March. He said that the new S and V models would have a coupe-like silhouette.
Volvo has committed to going completely electric but it won’t happen before the end of this decade. There is still time to build another generation of combustion-engined cars. It’s not clear at this time if the “60” and 90″ sedan and wagon lines will be renewed. The “S” and the “V” letters will be omitted from the new models, as future models will have names that replace the boring alphanumeric nomenclature.
The next-generation XC90 will be available in EV guise later this year, possibly bearing the “Embla” moniker. It will be able to ride on an electric platform. A larger SUV could follow, as was shown by the Concept Recharge. This SUV is expected to arrive in production form in 2023.