Volvo Cars has never built a production minivan in almost a century of existence, but that is about to change soon.
Not many people expected the rather conservative Swedish premium car brand to enter the minivan market, and yet that's exactly what the company is doing.
Volvo has announced its first minivan, the EM90, in August, and now the company has released fresh teaser images that give us more clues regarding the design of its upcoming electric premium MPV.
The company posted four photos on its Facebook page that show glimpses of the new model's exterior design, including the boxy body, illuminated diagonal bar in the front grille, and striking taillight LED signature that combines thick vertical bars with slimmer horizontal strips.
One of the photos provides a clear look at the Volvo EM90's front three-quarter panel, revealing similar headlights to the EX90 SUV – including the Thor's hammer LED DRLs – and a short hood.
Seen from the side, the EM90 clearly does not adopt a traditional monospace design, going for a two-box design just like the Zeekr 009, another electric luxury minivan from another Geely-owned company.
Speaking of the Zeekr 009, the Volvo EM90 is expected to share underpinnings with its Chinese sibling, including the Sustainable Electric Architecture (SEA) platform.
If that turns out to be the case, expect the EM90 to offer the same CATL 140-kilowatt-hour Qilin battery pack that uses lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt chemistry. With this battery, the Zeekr 009 is capable of covering 511 miles of range according to the CLTC cycle. In the 009, the battery powers a dual-motor powertrain delivering a combined 536 horsepower.
The all-new Volvo EM90 will have its global unveiling on November 12, when the company will start taking pre-orders from customers in China. The automaker did not provide information on the start of pre-orders in other markets.
This suggests that China will be the initial market and a production site for the model. As a reminder, China is the world's largest market for minivans, or MPVs as they are more commonly referred to there. Many carmakers offer luxury models specifically tailored for this market.
The Volvo EM90's competition will include not only electric MPVs like the Zeekr 009, Voyah Dreamer, and Denza D9, but also ICE-powered models like the Toyota Alphard, Lexus LM, Buick GL8 Century and more.
