- Volvo's Senior Manager of Exterior Design argues too much focus on aero can negatively impact design and practicality.
- Florian Mockenhaupt says Volvos will remain instantly recognizable.
- The cohesive design language will continue because luxury shoppers want consistency.
Some automakers have been criticized for going overboard with aerodynamic efficiency, making their electric vehicles look like blobs. We're looking at you, Mercedes. The more slippery the shape is, the greater the distance the EV can cover. But Volvo thinks there's a limit to the amount of attention given to drag coefficiency when engineering a new model.
Speaking with the Australian magazine Drive, Volvo's Senior Manager of Exterior Design Florian Mockenhaupt said future Volvos will benefit from improved aerodynamics but cautioned that focusing primarily on aero efficiency ultimately hurts styling as well as practicality:
"It's not actually so much the aesthetics, but making a car that looks like an Apple mouse comes with a lot of other compromises. We know that our customers worship comfort, for example, very much."
Mockenhaupt says Volvo will pursue to make its cars sleeker while keeping the design language cohesive across the lineup. Next-gen models will logically look more modern but won't be a total departure from current cars since he believes people shopping in the luxury segment prefer consistency. He argues it's a different story among mainstream automakers as some brands have cars that look entirely different while sitting next to each other in the showroom.
Mockenhaupt pledges Volvo will avoid embracing the "same sausage, different length" strategy some of the German competitors are still doing in 2024. There is one model in the company's lineup that's not quite like the others, primarily because it's not actually a Volvo. Yes, the EM90, a rebadged minivan that started in life as the Zeekr 009. However, its impact on Volvo's overall image is limited since the posh family hauler is only sold in China.
As reported by Automotive News, Volvo CEO Jim Rowan and Chief Commercial Officer Bjorn Annwall told dealers in the US that 10 next-gen cars or updated models will be launched within the next 24 months. Two of them will be the EX60 crossover and ES90 sedan, both of which will be EVs, plus a plug-in hybrid with a long range. These will join the recently launched EX90 and a second facelift for the XC90.
For global markets, Volvo intends to launch a next-gen car and a facelifted model annually for the next eight years. Despite initially saying it would go electric-only by 2030, the Geely-owned company is now hoping that plug-in hybrids and EVs will account for 90-100% of sales by the end of the decade.
