Despite reports suggesting EV demand is cooling, Volvo’s new EVs, including the EX30 and EX90, are attracting Ferrari-like wait times. The head of online business at Volvo Germany, Alex Zurhausen, says customers are waiting because they have “the right products at the right time.”
Volvo’s new EVs see Ferrari-like wait times
After unveiling the EX90 almost two years ago, Volvo’s flagship electric SUV is still in hot demand.
Deemed “the safest vehicle” Volvo has ever made, customers continue waiting for the premium electric seven-seater. Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan announced EX90 production was being delayed last May due to the “complexity of the software code.”
When asked how the brand prevented customers from switching to other brands, Zurhausen told Automotive News Europe that Volvo has “the right products at the right time.”
With over 20 years of experience at Volvo, Zurhausen said these are some of the highest wait times he’s seen.
“When I started at Volvo it was written in stone that if you ordered a car in three months you got your car,” Volvo’s Europe online business leader said.
The EX90 isn’t the only one of Volvo’s new EVs attracting Ferrari-like wait times. In Germany, the wait time for Volvo’s most affordable EX30 is up to four months.
Volvo hit its highest-ever electrified vehicle sales share last month, primarily due to the new EX30 rolling out. Since launching in December, Volvo has sold 5,863 EX30 models through the first two months of 2024.
“It is an achievement that the brand has developed to the point where people are willing to wait that long for a Volvo,” Zurhause boasted, adding, “We’re not a Ferrari.”
Zurhause said Volvo’s business has never been better. Volvo set new global sales (+113,000 EVs) and revenue records last year. CEO Jim Rowan expects “tremendous growth” in 2024 as new EVs roll out.
Rowan highlighted Volvo’s pricing power: The EX30 starts at $34,950 in the US and €36,590 in Europe.
When asked about the reported EV slowdown, Rowan responded, “We are not seeing any order cancellations or any slowdown in order intake.”
city-dwellers’s Take
While several rivals, including Ford, GM, Mercedes-Benz, and others, are pushing back EV initiatives, Volvo is plowing ahead.
The EX30 is rolling out in Europe, Japan, and Brazil, with new markets coming soon. In the US, the EX30 will be one of the most affordable EVs, starting under $35,000. It will be available in a single-motor extended range and a motor performance model.
The extended range boasts up to 275 miles range, while the Performance is Volvo’s quickest EV, with a 0 to 60 mph sprint in 3.4 s. It’s expected to begin rolling out by this summer.
Volvo’s EX90 will start at $76,695 in the US. It will rival Rivian’s R1S, the seventh-best-selling EV in the US last year.
Volvo is also launching its first luxury electric minivan, the EM90, in China. The new electric models will help Volvo advance toward becoming an all-EV automaker by 2030.
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