Volvo has released more teaser images of its electric EM90 ahead of its global debut on November 12.
While Volvo has long enjoyed a reputation for family-friendly vehicles, it has never offered a people mover (aka MPV or minivan) before.
With luxury people movers proving popular in China, however, the Chinese-owned Swedish brand is jumping into the fray.
The new people mover has been developed for the Chinese market, but the company says additional markets will be discussed at a later date.
Up front, there’s a large grille with an illuminated Volvo logo and headlights resembling those of the EX30 and EX90, while down back there are huge T-shaped tail lights. The EM90 also features dual sunroofs.
Despite being shot through a curtain and partially obscured by an Eames chair, we can make out much of the side profile in one teaser image.
It’s a bluff, boxy people mover, much like the 009 from Zeekr, another brand under the Geely umbrella.
While we haven’t seen the interior yet, Volvo promises it will be thoroughly comfortable.
“The Volvo EM90 is our first ever fully electric premium MPV, and is designed for you to make the most of the time spent in the car, like a Scandinavian living room on the move,” the company says in its press release.
Spy photos captured in China and published by Car News China in July revealed what appears to be a heavily camouflaged version of the upcoming people mover.
Given this spied Volvo people mover and the Zeekr 009 share a lot of their exterior styling, it’s expected their underpinnings will be the same too.
The Zeekr 009 rides on Geely’s Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA), and offers a choice of 116kWh and 140kWh batteries supplied by CATL.
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Spied EM90 prototype -
Quoted range figures are 702km and 822km, respectively, albeit both on the generous CLTC test cycle.
Regardless of the battery, the 009 produces 400kW of power and 686Nm of torque from its dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrain.
That gives it a claimed 0-100km/h time of just 4.5 seconds – heady performance for a boxy people mover. It also has a relatively slippery drag coefficient of 0.27.
All models ride on a “high-performance” air suspension set-up, with double wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension.
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Zeekr 009 -
The 009 measures in at 5209mm long, 2024mm wide, and 1848-1856mm tall, with a 3205mm wheelbase. This is almost identical to the new LDV MIFA and its electric MIFA 9 counterpart.
It’s also slightly longer than the Kia Carnival, while it has a properly premium interior with heated and ventilated captain’s chairs for the first two rows, finished in Nappa leather and Ultrasuede upholstery.
Screens in the Zeekr 009 include a 10.25-inch unit ahead of the driver, a 15.4-inch touchscreen display, and a 15.6-inch adjustable central ceiling screen. There are also 3.4-inch touchscreens on the sliding doors.
The 009 also offers matrix LED headlights, dual sunroofs, power sliding doors, colour-adjustable ambient lighting, and a 20-speaker Yamaha sound system.
Luxury people movers are a hot commodity in Asia, particularly in China where they’re often offered in a sumptuous four-seat configuration. Even the humble Honda Odyssey offers such a setup in that market, complete with a partition that incorporates a TV.
Luxurious people movers are less common in Australia, but Lexus’ recently revealed second-generation LM people mover, based on the Toyota Alphard, is due here in December.
It will battle the Mercedes-Benz V-Class, which is available with an electric powertrain under the EQV nameplate.
