Volvo and its sister brand Polestar have delayed the production starts of their new flagship electric SUVs because of software issues.
Volvo's EX90 all-electric flagship will now go into production in the first half of 2024, Volvo said on Thursday. The Sweden-based automaker had previously said the car would start rolling off the line in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Volvo CEO Jim Rowan blamed the delay on the challenges that come with the testing "mission critical software."
"There are always lumps and bumps on the road that you have every now and again, mainly when you rigorously test that software," he told Automotive News Europe. "That's what we are getting through right now."
Another challenge is that the EX90, and the Polestar 3, are the first models in the Geely family to add a key safety solution.
"The thing about software -- especially because there is so much of it in that car because of the core compute architecture and because we are adding lidar, which is a brand new technology -- it needs to be right," Rowan said.
Demand for the EX90 remains high, Volvo said.
Polestar said the production start of the Polestar 3 has been pushed to the first quarter of 2024. The Polestar 3 and EX90 share Volvo's new electric platform. Polestar 3 production was due to begin in August, according to AutoForecast Solutions.
