Volvo outlines major model changes coming in 2026 and beyond

Volvo has detailed key updates and changes to its model line-up coming in the next two years, starting with improved tech for the XC40 and faster charging for the EX90.

Speaking with media, including Drive, at a recent range event, Volvo Australia executives outlined the brand’s plans, both locked in and on the radar.

The EX90 went on sale in Australia earlier this year with a 400V charging architecture, with its 107kWh battery able to be topped up from 10 to 80 per cent in a claimed 30 minutes at a maximum 250kW.

As of July next year, however, the 800V upgrade for the MY26 model will allow the now slightly smaller 102kWh battery to be charged at 350kW in a claimed 22 minutes.

Alongside this, the EX90 will be lighter and more powerful, with UK outlet Car and Driver reporting it could be bumped to 500kW from the current 380kW max.

Other new features will include the panoramic electrochromic glass roof from the ES90, which allows occupants to adjust transparency at the touch of a button; Park Pilot Assist; and an enhanced computer system using dual NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Orin chips, capable of 500 trillion operations per second.

The updated EX90 will arrive at the same time as Volvo’s new EX60 medium electric SUV, which will also have the 800V architecture, as will the ES90 electric sedan when it arrives by the end of 2025.

Additionally, owners of MY25 EX90s will be able to have their vehicles upgraded for free. 

This follows widespread overseas criticism that the EX90 was not ready when it launched in late 2024, with buyers experiencing malfunctioning phone-as-a-key functionality, a keycard that rarely worked quickly, constant phone connection problems, infotainment glitches, and error messages.

Stephen Connor, Managing Director of Volvo Australia, told Drive that the local arm hadn’t received the same feedback, possibly due to the fact only 250 cars were allocated for our market in the first batch.

“It's like in every software company, there are always things we update with bug fixes. We haven't seen a huge issue in Australia, but we are not a volume market for the EX90. The great thing is we can fix it over-the-air. We don't even have to tell you there's a fix; you just come down overnight, it updates, and away you go.”

Notwithstanding the technology problems, Connor said some customers may wait to buy the significantly improved EX90.

“Possibly, yeah. There's always that argument,” he told us.

This year, the XC40 hybrid small SUV will get the Volvo UX new-generation infotainment platform already seen in the EX90 and EX30 electric SUVs, as well as the recent facelifts of the XC60 and XC90 hybrids.

The UX platform, according to the car maker, is designed to be safer, more intuitive, and personalised. It features a faster and more responsive infotainment system, with key apps like maps and media on the home screen and a contextual bar that adapts to show recently used apps.

Crucially, the upgrade is not just for new cars; it is being rolled out via an over-the-air update across 2.5 million vehicles globally, 35,000 of which are in Australia by the end of 2025 – albeit with no change to the screen size, which remains a 9-inch unit.

Michael Rowland, Product Manager for Volvo Australia, told media, including Drive, that improving the user experience for existing owners is important to the brand.

“Family is a big part of our brand, and supporting, looking after and offering our current family members the best experience possible is again, something really, really important to us,” he said.

“It's a part of how we generate or build a family. A family is not about forgetting those who join the journey. It's about bringing everybody along to keep them in the family.”

In addition to the UX platform, the XC40 will get some new paint choices for MY26, including Forest Lake green, but the SUV will still have a wired, and not wireless, Apple CarPlay connection for the current model generation.

Volvo is bringing a sedan back to Australia this year in the form of the electric ES90, following the S90’s departure seven years ago.

A single rear-mounted electric motor is combined with a 92kWh battery pack, producing 245kW/480Nm, and is rated for a 650km driving range (WLTP).

In Europe, the ES90 is offered in four versions: the RWD Plus and Ultra, as well as all-wheel drive Twin Motor Ultra and Twin Motor Performance Ultra.

Both have dual electric motors – one on each axle – but while the Twin Motor Ultra uses a 106kWh battery and delivers a combined 330kW, the Twin Motor Performance Ultra ups the game with a 111kWh battery and 380kW. Both are rated with a driving range of around 700km. 

According to Connor, Volvo will only bring the all-wheel-drive option to Australia if demand is there, but the risks include overcrowding the segment and competing with sister brand Polestar.

“We have the ability to choose the powertrains that suit our market,” he said.

“Obviously, that will involve a different cost analysis. We can take them all if we want to, but you've also got to recognise for us as Volvo, there's no point clustering the marketplace, right? 

“If there's enough demand, by all means, we will bring it in. But there's no point bringing in the car if you're only selling a hundred cars a year. So there's that balance between volume and enough volume that makes it sit comfortably.”

Connor also said there were other considerations to adding more grades to the line-up, including dealer constraints and increasing prices.

“If you've got loads more variants, the dealerships have to carry more stock, they've got to have more demonstrators, and actually, it starts to confuse the customer,” he added.

“We always go really high on the top-spec to make sure it's the premium option. Then the one underneath it is still full of spec in terms of safety and everything else, but we dumb it down slightly so we can get to a certain price point.

“But also, the other thing you have to bear in mind, if you start going with an all-wheel drive, the price point has to go up because you're paying for more technology, and what we don't want to do is go to a price point that puts us out of the marketplace as well. So there's a fine balance.”

Revealed at this year's Chengdu motor show, the 2026 Volvo XC70 is a Chinese-market long-range plug-in hybrid SUV designed to slot in above the XC60 medium SUV.

Volvo has confirmed it will eventually offer the model in Europe, but at the time of the reveal, said it would assess it for local sale should it become available in right-hand drive.

Speaking with Drive, Managing Director Stephen Connor said the XC70 is “currently under review” for Australia.

“If we think that it's a car for this market and if we think it's the right fit, then absolutely we'll look to bring it across. 

“We'll wait and see how EX60 goes. But what we won't do is take it for the sake of another model in the range. It looks like a great car. It looks like it's got great [driving] range. So it could be something that we could take in the future, but it will probably be a couple of years away if we do.”

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A born-and-bred newshound, Kathryn has worked her way up through the ranks reporting for, and later editing, two renowned UK regional newspapers and websites, before moving on to join the digital newsdesk of one of the world’s most popular newspapers – The Sun. More recently, she’s done a short stint in PR in the not-for-profit sector, and led the news team at Wheels Media.

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