After building hype with a set of images shared online in October, Swedish automaker Volvo has officially released its first-ever electric minivan, the EM90, CleanTechnica reports.
The EM90 might not be what you expect from a minivan, though. It is first being released in China, and according to CleanTechnica, minivans have a very different image there than they do in the United States. Whereas Americans associate them with soccer moms hauling around carloads of kids, to the average person in China, a minivan is a luxury vehicle for transporting high-end executives.
That would explain why the EM90 comes with a price tag of $114,000. It looks like it will be worth every penny, though, with a sleek exterior design and a roomy interior complete with reclining "captain's chairs."
According to Volvo, the EM90 will be a flexible "multi-purpose vehicle." In a statement from the EM90's mid-November release date, the company said, "The EM90 demonstrates our strong abilities to innovate and meet specific market demands. … When the car is not used for family trips, it doubles as executive business transport that offers the ultimate comfortable interior environment for meetings and business calls. In short, for customers looking for safety and a spacious, versatile, and comfortable premium experience on the move, the EM90 is an exciting new option for them."
CleanTechnica speculates that to achieve that kind of versatility, Volvo might release a "stripped-down version" of the EM90 in the U.S. to appeal to the typical minivan driver here.
Regardless, this is just the latest in a series of moves designed to pivot Volvo to an all-electric company. Volvo has stated that it hopes to sell only electric cars by 2030 and to have hit 50% electric car sales by 2025. If it achieves that, it will be saving American drivers money while protecting the planet from the air pollution and accompanying rising temperatures caused by overuse of traditional gas-burning vehicles.
"With the EM90, we're taking Volvo Cars' heritage and leadership in safety into the exciting new electric MPV segment," said Jim Rowan, chief executive at Volvo Cars. "It allows us to tap new market demand we've not explored before and broadens the appeal of the Volvo brand to more people."
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