An all-electric Volvo estate? ‘An interesting opportunity’, says Volvo boss

Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson has indicated neither of the two new models Volvo is set to unveil later this year will be an electric estate or wagon. But he didn’t rule out Volvo building one.

Asked directly if Volvo would consider building an estate on the all-electric SPA 3 platform, Samuelsson cracked a smile: “That’s an interesting opportunity – but probably not during the autumn this year … Let us wait with revealing those cars, but I think they will be two very exciting cars for the market.”

Speaking to investment analysts and media alongside Samuelsson following Volvo Cars’ second quarter results presentation, Chief Commercial Officer Erik Severinson added: “SPA 3 is a very capable architecture. It can do big cars, small cars, high and low cars – which is a pre-requisite for any estate discussion.”

The EX60 mid-sized SUV, due in Australia early next year, is the first model built on the SPA 3 platform as Volvo aims to build on the success of the petrol and plug-in hybrid versions of its predecessor, the XC60, which last year overtook the iconic Volvo 240 as the best-selling Volvo of all time.

Some 2.7 million 240s were built between 1974 and 1993, of which almost a million were estate or wagon versions (and of which at least one in Australia has been converted to fully electric). Meanwhile, its replacement, the angular Volvo 850, became known as the “Swedish brick” – or in turbo and race-tuned form, “the flying brick”.

Bigger PHEV potential While the return of the wagon remains an open question, Severinson hinted that one of the new models expected to be announced in September may be a PHEV – as Volvo has committed to building longer range plug-in hybrids that are more "EV with a back-up engine" than vice versa.

Per Severinson: “Maybe the short answer is there is more to come – without revealing any detail about the future product [updates] we have said we will continue to invest in our PHEV technology; we have been very successful in terms of market share [with] the XC60 and XC90 [PHEVs] … That is a position we will continue to protect – and there will be more news coming very soon, at the end of the summer, I would say. So, we have more to come – and we are seeing the potential.”

Among Volvo Cars current PHEV line-up:

● The XC90 plug-in hybrid has an electric range of up to 77km* and a combined fuel consumption of just 1.8l per 100kms.

● The XC60 plug-in hybrid has an electric range of up to 89km* and a combined fuel consumption of just 1.6l per 100kms.

Both are easily capable of covering the average Australian’s daily drive of 36.4km (according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data) and both PHEVs require three hours or less to fully recharge at home, ready for the next day.

See Volvo Car Australia’s range of plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles here.

*The figures are preliminary and derive from estimates and calculations performed by Volvo Cars which is not carried out on every individual vehicle sold by Volvo and these outcomes are not guaranteed. The real life driving range and energy consumption under real conditions varies depending on factors including but not limited to driving style, road and traffic conditions, environmental influences, vehicle condition and accessories fitted, which means in the real world the range you experience can differ from that advertised. Advertised figures are meant for comparison purposes. Vehicle certification pending.