Volvo on Thursday introduced its first minivan—in absolutely electrical type—and confirmed the mannequin for China.

The Swedish automaker says that the upcoming mannequin, known as EM90, is designed to take advantage of time spent within the automotive, “like a Scandinavian front room on the transfer.”

The Volvo EM90 is anticipated to be intently primarily based on the Zeekr 009 MPV, a mannequin that seats six and marks the worldwide debut of CATL’s cell-to-pack battery tech. The 009 can speed up to 60 mph in lower than 4.5 seconds, claims a drag coefficient of simply 0.27, and has next-generation Mobileye-based driver-assist security tech. Volvo Vehicles is owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding, and Zeekr is an affiliated model.

2023 Zeekr 009

Thanks partly to the battery tech, driving vary is a Zeekr 009 energy—with CLTC-cycle numbers as much as 511 miles possible equating to one thing close to 400 EPA miles, if Volvo preserves the identical battery tech and ponders U.S. gross sales.

The posh van arrives at a time when Volvo is pulling again on sedan plans for some markets. It just lately, for example, opted to chop all its sedans within the UK—though it hasn’t but introduced such a transfer within the U.S. However with all of its gross sales shifting electrical by the tip of the last decade, it’s clearly in search of to reshape its lineup, as evidenced by the $35,000 Chinese language-made EX30 EV that’s U.S.-bound. 

Minivans had been as soon as an enormous portion of the U.S. automobile market, however the section has stagnated lately. That’s partly because of customers’ migration to ruggedly styled however much less sensible SUVs, partly because of an absence of innovation within the section. 

Most just lately, Toyota gave its minivan a brand new spin beginning in 2021 with a hybrid-only Sienna that seats as much as eight and is rated at 36 mpg. 

2019 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid

There’s already a plug-in minivan provided within the U.S. market. Since 2017, the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid—truly a plug-in hybrid—has provided 32 electrical miles on a cost, then 30 mpg mixed in hybrid mode. As knowledge from the automaker helps, that mannequin boasts a 24% discount in lifetime carbon emissions vs. a non-hybrid minivan. 

Chrysler has indicated that it isn’t achieved with the minivan market but, and it has stated that it’s trying to as soon as once more reinvent the minivan in electrical type in its future lineup. 

The EM90 will probably be revealed on November 12, 2023, and pre-orders for patrons in China will begin that very same day in keeping with Volvo.