Volvo enters its ‘kick-ass’ era – here’s what’s coming

“To make kick-ass electric cars, you need to have dedicated platforms”. Volvo’s Chief Engineering and Technology Officer Anders Bell appears highly confident on both fronts – and says customers are about to understand why.

“I can't wait until 21st of January when we come back here to Stockholm to launch what will be the best electric vehicle in the world,” he said at the carmaker’s recent strategy update. “This is arguably the most important launch in the history of the company.”

Bell was referring to the launch of the EX60. But it marks a new era for the rest of Volvo’s line-up – because the EX60 is the first car designed fully on Volvo’s new SPA3 platform, which brings together systems, software and hardware in a single tech stack.

Which means more efficient cars that keep getting better over time – without the high costs of having to build different systems for different models.

“We believe that SPA3 is the best electric vehicle platform in the world,” per Bell. ‘This will provide us with peak effectiveness: Cost, scalability, modularity, upgradeability.”

More range, faster charging

The new platform marks a shift away from production originally designed for petrol and diesel cars to a set-up designed specifically to build better electric vehicles.

Which means all of Volvo’s technological advances can be shared across all of its vehicles. Bell said those advances are already significant.

For batteries, he cited 40 per cent charging time reductions via the new 800-volt system now rolling out, as well as 25 per cent cost per kilowatt hour reductions and 20 per cent higher energy densities.

The new generation thermal systems launching with the EX60 also deliver “50 per cent improved cooling capacity and 33 per cent lower energy consumption, so you get a 20 per cent lower cost, you get 50 per cent better cooling capacity.”

All very well, but what does that actually mean?

“It means we can pre-cool, or preheat the [battery] pack so you can have faster charging. It also means we can keep the cells in the optimal durability temperature quicker so we can guarantee the lifetime of the battery will outlast the car,” said Bell. “33 per cent lower energy consumption [means] you get much longer range. That will be evident when we launch the EX60. This is a key contributor to how we can achieve that range.”

Volvo has not officially confirmed the EX60’s maximum range, though has said it will be the highest of any of its electric vehicles to date. Currently, the ES90 – with a maximum range of 554km* on a single charge – holds that crown.

Pedal to the metal

Bell pointed out that such advances in efficiency and range have occurred in just a few years – and will keep accelerating.

“[We are] completely breaking the traditional automotive equation and breaking the cycle of being stuck in the combustion world and embracing all in on electricity,” said Bell.

He underlined just how superior the technology being developed for electric vehicles is versus its petrol and diesel ancestors.

“If you have an electric car, let's say 85 kilowatt hour battery pack – kind of average for a pretty long-range car. It's been on your home charger overnight. You go out in the morning, it's 100% charged. You're happy as Larry and ready to take on anything that comes at you that day,” said Bell.

“Do you know how much energy you have in that pack translated to petrol expressed in litres?”

He didn’t expect anyone to know, so proceeded to answer.

“You will have around 9 litres translated to megajoules to kilowatt hours. You are actually starting your day with 9 litres of energy in your car and you're happy as Larry. That's how efficient – and this is why the electric vehicle is a superior product.”

Software hard yards

As well as re-engineering physical systems, Bell said Volvo’s massive software integration is equally critical to delivering better cars – that keep getting better.

“We now have merged all our cars to one software track. So it means that EX90, ES90, EX60, and all these new cars, including Generation 2 plug-in hybrids the [longer-range PHEVs Volvo has begun to build, such as the XC70] will all be from the same software master,” said Bell.

“This unlocks faster speed, efficiency in development. It means, basically, every single function or fix we do, we need to do [just] once – and it's ready for all cars. This is a massive change for a car company, truly becoming not only a car company but a software company as well. You need to be both.”

Great. But what does all that techno-prowess mean for customers?

“There's literally no end to where we'll go in this journey. Immediately, we will have safer cars. We can provide more efficient cars. We can integrate in your ecosystem, in your apps, we have widgets for Apple, we have other solutions for Google; we can launch more innovative functions, an outstanding user experience and faster, better quality software updates,” said Bell.

“Most importantly, all the development in the software realm will be accumulative. Meaning, what we do tomorrow is built on what we did today. Meaning that what we do in five years – I have no clue what we'll do in five years, but I know it's going to be awesome – will be built on all the stuff we've [already] done. We will build new functions on top of the capabilities we’ve launched. There will be new functions on top of the combination functions we already achieved … This is profound,” he added.

Four updates a year for all

Volvo will now start to channel those “master” upgrades into four major planned releases a year, per Bell.

“These are releases that go to the entire fleet. So all the cars on the road, all the cars coming out of the factory, and all the cars that are on the drawing board that we have yet to reveal are getting releases from the same master – four times per year, all with meaningful upgrades for customers.”

He thinks the culmination – and massive investment – of migrating to the new dedicated platform is what will set Volvo apart from rival carmakers.

“Very few car companies have come to this point. It's super hard to master, it's super hard to get there. But once you're there, now we can polish the machine. And we’ve pressure tested it so much, so now we have a true diamond here … We are going to keep polishing every single facet of this diamond for the years to come,” said Bell.

“This is the speed of development. This is the s-curve of fully embracing electric vehicle technology, realising that to make kick-ass electric cars, you need to have dedicated platforms.”

On 21st January, the start of the kick-ass era begins.

*Range figures are preliminary and based on WLTP testing standards obtained under specific testing conditions for the Volvo ES90. These outcomes are not guaranteed. Real-world range varies depending on driving behaviour and other external factors. Vehicle certification pending