Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News
  • Automobilwoche
  • Automotive News Canada
  • Automotive News China
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Login
  • HOME
    • Latest news
    • Automakers
    • Suppliers
    • New Product
    • Environment/Emissions
    • Sales By Market
    • On The Move
    • Auto Shows
    • Munich Auto Show
    • Geneva Auto Show
    • Paris Auto Show
    • Beijing Auto Show
    • Shanghai Auto Show
  • Features
    • Long Read
    • Interview of the Month
    • Focus on Electrification
    • Focus on Technology
    • Segment Analysis
    • Cars & Concepts
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Europe By The Numbers
  • Opinion
    • Blogs
    • Commentary
    • Guest columnists
  • Photos
    • Photo Galleries
    • Geneva Photo Gallery
    • Beijing Photo Gallery
    • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
    • Paris Photo Gallery
    • Shanghai Photo Gallery
  • Podcasts
  • Car Cutaways
  • EVENTS
    • ANE Congress
    • ANE Rising Stars
    • ANE Eurostars
  • More
    • Publishing Partners
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
    • Media Kit
    • About Us
    • Capgemini: All or nothing: Why circular business models require a holistic approach
    • Capgemini: Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
    • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
    • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
    • Capgemini: The circular economy is spurring new thinking on EV batteries
    • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
    • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
    • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
    • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
    • Toyota Europe
    • UFI Filters
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Cars & Concepts
September 21, 2022 08:32 AM

Volvo EX90 flagship electric SUV will be 'safest model ever'

The EX90 will replace XC90 as Volvo's flagship. It will have a lidar-based 'invisible shield of safety' embedded in the roofline.

Douglas A. Bolduc
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Volvo CEO Jim Rowan with EX90 computer-generated representation

    Volvo CEO Jim Rowan stands in front of a computer-generated image that represents the shape of the EX90.

    The biggest all-new product debut for Volvo Cars in half a decade will have standard safety equipment that goes "beyond that of any Volvo before it," the automaker's CEO, Jim Rowan, said.

    The EX90 full-electric premium large SUV will replace the XC90 as Volvo's flagship. It will have an "invisible shield of safety" that can help reduce accidents that cause serious injuries or death by up to one-fifth, Rowan said in a release.

    To achieve that goal, Volvo is adding a lidar sensor for the first time.

    The system, which will be embedded in the EX90's roofline, uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure wide areas of space far in front of the car with high precision.

    "The difference lidar can make for real-life safety is remarkable," Rowan said on Wednesday. "Our recent research indicates that adding lidar to a car can reduce accidents with severe outcomes by up to 20 percent, and overall crash avoidance can be improved by up to 9 percent."
     
    The lidar technology, which is from Luminar and will become standard equipment in Volvos over time, can detect pedestrians at distance of up to 250 meter even at highway speeds.

    "And because it's not reliant on light like a camera, it's watching over you in daylight and at night," Rowan said.

    Working together with the lidar in the EX90's road monitoring system will be eight cameras, five radars and 16 ultrasonic sensors.

    Volvo released the EX90 name and safety details on Wednesday about the car but no exterior or interior photos, which will be part of the vehicle's full reveal on November 9.

    Volvo EX90 teaser sketch

    Volvo also will debut its so-called driver understanding system as standard equipment in the EX90.

    The real-time interior sensing system uses two cameras to look for early signals that show the driver is not alert. It does so by observing the driver's eye-gaze patterns. By measuring how much of the time the driver looks at the road ahead, the system understands when the driver's eyes, and possibly the driver's mind, are focused somewhere else. Steering behavior is also measured.

    If the driver is not alert the assistance system starts with a warning signal that grows in volume based on the severity of the situation.

    If the driver doesn't respond to increasingly clear warnings, the car can even safely stop by the side of the road, sending a warning to other road users with its hazard lights.

    "Interior sensing is one of the next safety frontiers for us," Volvo's acting safety center boss, Thomas Broberg, said in a release.

    Added Volvo's head of safe vehicle automation, Joachim de Verdier, in a release: "We believe the EX90 to be the safest Volvo car to ever hit the road … When all our safety systems, sensors, software and computing power come together, they create a preventative shield of safety around you – and you won't even know it's there until you need it."

    In-depth look at Volvo's new flagship

    Volvo CEO Jim Rowan outlines the EX90's key safety features. Click here for more

    Volvo shares more on its next-generation road-monitoring system. Click here for more

    Volvo explains its driver understanding system. Click here for more

    Rowan said the EX90 is "the start of a new era" at Volvo, which he began guiding this March as the successor to longtime CEO Hakan Samuelsson. Like Samuelsson in 2014 with the XC90, Volvo's No. 3-seller globally, Rowan's first big launch is the automaker's top-of-the-line model.

    Rowan told Automotive News Europe earlier this year that he wants Volvo's first model under his leadership to get people to see the automaker as "a very credible next-generation electrified car company."

    The EX90, Volvo's first all-new model since the XC40 premium compact SUV arrived in 2017, is a crucial part of the automaker's shift toward becoming an electric-only brand by 2030.

    After eight months the XC90 is Europe's No. 3-selling premium large SUV with a volume of 16,701, which is down 6.4 percent on the same periond last year.

    The XC90 trails the segment-leading Mercedes-Benz GLE and the BMW X5 in second place, The two German models have accounted for sales of more than 26,000 unit each through August.

    CARS & CONCEPTS: Sign up for this multipurpose newsletter that covers the biggest moves in Europe’s product market.
    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    SsangYong plans EVs for Europe under new name
    Recommended for You
    KG Mobility Torres EVX 2023
    SsangYong plans EVs for Europe under new name
    Lamborghini Revuelto 2.jpg
    Powerful Lamborghini Revuelto plug-in hybrid launches brand into EV era
    Kia EV9
    Kia EV9 gets Level 3 autonomous driving, hauling power, software updates
    Sign up for free newsletters
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    DAILY NEWSLETTER: Sign up and get the top news of the day in Europe every business weekday.
    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up and get the best of Automotive News Europe delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    SUBSCRIBE TODAY

    Get 24/7 access to in-depth, authoritative coverage of the auto industry from a global team of reporters and editors covering the news that’s vital to your business.

    SUBSCRIBE NOW
    Connect with Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram

    Founded in 1996, Automotive News Europe is the preferred information source for decision-makers and opinion leaders operating in Europe.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI  48207-2997
    Tel: +1 877-812-1584

    Email Us

    ISSN 2643-6590 (print)
    ISSN 2643-6604 (online)

     

    Resources
    • About us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Awards
    • Rising Stars
    • Eurostars
    • Leading Women
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Automotive News Europe
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • HOME
      • Latest news
      • Automakers
      • Suppliers
      • New Product
      • Environment/Emissions
      • Sales By Market
      • On The Move
      • Auto Shows
        • Munich Auto Show
        • Geneva Auto Show
        • Paris Auto Show
        • Beijing Auto Show
        • Shanghai Auto Show
    • Features
      • Long Read
      • Interview of the Month
      • Focus on Electrification
      • Focus on Technology
      • Segment Analysis
      • Cars & Concepts
      • Supplier Spotlight
      • Europe By The Numbers
    • Opinion
      • Blogs
      • Commentary
      • Guest columnists
    • Photos
      • Photo Galleries
      • Geneva Photo Gallery
      • Beijing Photo Gallery
      • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
      • Paris Photo Gallery
      • Shanghai Photo Gallery
    • Podcasts
    • Car Cutaways
    • EVENTS
      • ANE Congress
      • ANE Rising Stars
      • ANE Eurostars
    • More
      • Publishing Partners
        • Capgemini: All or nothing: Why circular business models require a holistic approach
        • Capgemini: Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
        • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
        • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
        • Capgemini: The circular economy is spurring new thinking on EV batteries
        • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
        • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
        • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
        • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
        • Toyota Europe
        • UFI Filters
      • Social Media
        • Facebook
        • Instagram
        • LinkedIn
        • Twitter
      • Contact Us
      • Media Kit
      • About Us