Supposed to arrive in 2023, the impressive Volvo EX90 electric vehicle has just started production, giving it a head start on the competition with a ready-made battery passport!
Officially starting production, Volvo announced on May 5, 2024, that the new flagship vehicle from the Swedish company is rolling off production lines in Charleston, South Carolina (USA). The EX90 SUV will also be produced in China. While the starting price in France is set at €89,500 (Start trim, 580 km range), there is no confirmed arrival date for the model. In the USA, the first customers will receive their vehicles in the second half of this year. However, the road to production was not smooth for the EX90.
The delay in production was due to the advanced safety features Volvo implemented in the SUV, such as Lidar, five radars, eight cameras, and 16 ultrasonic sensors. This high-level safety technology caused more development issues than anticipated for the Swedish carmaker. Initially unveiled in late 2022, production was scheduled to start in mid-2023, but it has been delayed by a year. The delay was mainly due to software development and testing for the new platform (SPA2) the vehicle is built on. Volvo anticipates that this delay will benefit the future models of the brand as they incorporate similar technologies in the coming years.
On the flip side, Volvo managed to leverage this delay to be ahead in meeting European Union regulations that will make a battery passport mandatory for all electric vehicles by 2027. Three years ahead of this deadline, the Volvo EX90 is already equipped with a battery passport to provide detailed information on the battery composition, materials’ origin, carbon footprint, and recyclability. This transparency helps buyers, ensures battery health traceability (useful for resale), and potentially makes the vehicle eligible for subsidies.
Volvo developed its battery passport in collaboration with the UK startup Circulor, utilizing blockchain technology to track the supply chain of the companies involved. This process took over 5 years due to the complexity of tracing every component and supplier. Volvo audited suppliers with Circulor to keep information up to date. According to Douglas Johnson-Poensgen, CEO of Circulor, some automakers may not meet the 2027 EU deadline as they are starting late and underestimating the required time.
Overall, Volvo’s EX90 is not just a groundbreaking electric vehicle in terms of production and technology but also a pioneer in meeting future regulatory standards before many other automakers.