Luxury meets lightning: Volvo unveils the ES90 electric sedan

After the first teaser info, and a leak of a picture from Volvo’s Belgian division yesterday, the Swedish car maker finally took the wraps off its new sedan ES90. It’s the first all-electric offering from Volvo in this segment. And the Swedes tried their best to give the Audi A6 e-Tron, BMW i5 and Mercedes EQE something to worry about.

The new ES90 from Volvo isn’t a sedan in the tradition of the S90, but a sleek fastback-style EV designed to compete in the premium segment. It offers a coachwork alternative neither Audi, BMW, or Mercedes can match. Although technically a five-door hatchback, the ES90 remains reminiscent of the silhouette of a classic sedan to cling to the brand’s tradition.

The ES90 aims to offer a modern take on a category increasingly dominated by SUVs. It is Volvo’s sixth electric model, and while initially launching in Europe, it will be introduced to other global markets later.

Not a feather weight

With a 3.1-meter wheelbase, the ES90 is slightly longer than the S90’s 3.06 meters, though its overall length remains at 5 meters. It stands 1.55 meters high and 1.94 meters wide, making it comparable in size to the above-mentioned BMW i5, Mercedes EQE, and Audi A6 e-tron.

But weighing up to 2,625 kg, the ES90 is significantly heavier than its combustion-powered counterpart. The design stays true to Volvo’s signature styling, featuring the distinctive “Thor’s Hammer” headlights, C-shaped taillights with extended LEDs in the rear window mimicking the signature pillar lights, and a roof-mounted lidar sensor supporting its advanced driver-assistance systems. Hopefully, the latter system will be activated from the start, unlike its sibling, the SUV EX90.

Inside, the ES90 offers a high-tech, minimalist interior with Scandinavian design influences. The infotainment hub is a 14.5-inch vertically mounted touchscreen running Google’s built-in software. A 9.0-inch driver display and a head-up display provide essential driving data. Buyers can choose from various upholstery materials, while a panoramic glass roof—which blocks 99.9% of UV rays—is standard. An optional electrochromic glass panel allows users to adjust its transparency.

Most powerful Volvo ever

Under the hood—or rather, under the floor—Volvo offers three powertrain configurations. The base single-motor rear-wheel-drive model produces 333 horsepower and 480 Nm of torque and can reach 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds. The dual-motor Twin Motor version increases output to 449 horsepower and 670 Nm, cutting the 0-100 km/h time to 5.6 seconds. 

At the top of the range, the Twin Motor Performance model delivers an impressive 680 horsepower and 870 Nm, launching from 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.0 seconds, making it the most powerful production Volvo ever built.

Battery capacity varies between models. The single-motor variant has a 92 kWh battery, while the twin-motor versions receive a larger 106 kWh pack. As already announced, Volvo estimates a maximum range of 700 kilometres, depending on the configuration. 

Moreover, the ES90 also features 800-volt architecture, allowing ultra-fast charging, an essential upgrade over the EX90. As such, the larger battery can charge from 10% to 80% in just 20 minutes using a 350-kW DC fast charger, adding approximately 300 kilometres of range in 10 minutes.

Software-defined vehicle era

Built on Volvo’s SPA2 electric platform, the ES90 catapults Volvo into the software-defined vehicle era. It relies on an architecture with twin Nvidia Orin processors capable of handling 500 trillion operations per second, providing a new benchmark for the brand.

This central computing power enables seamless over-the-air updates, continuously enhancing the vehicle’s functionality and adding new features over time. The ES90 inherits the EX90’s dual-chamber air suspension and adaptive dampers, promising a ride that Volvo engineers describe as “very comfortable and calm.”

The ES90 is now available for order in Europe. The base Single Motor Core model in Belgium starts at 73,990 euros, while the Twin Motor Plus variant is priced from 88,990 euros. These prices include maintenance for the first five years or 150,000 kilometres.