That car – similar in size to the XC70 – has been engineered in partnership with MG owner SAIC to target the burgeoning market for RExs in China, with companies like Li Auto, Leapmotor and Avatr among the biggest players.
However, like Volvo, Volkswagen’s sales and marketing boss told Autocar that a global launch was not off the table: “Range-extenders today are already a very big thing in China. They will be of relevance in North America and we are convinced they will also have relevance in Europe.”
Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson said long-range hybrid technology provides “a perfect bridge to full electrification” amid a slowing of demand for pure-EVs.
“It enables us to maintain and develop a balanced product portfolio, while offering a highly attractive alternative to customers who are not yet ready for fully electric cars. This is also an example of regionalisation, where we adapt to the local market needs,” he said.
The XC70 has an especially important role to play for Volvo as the company embarks on a wide-reaching global cost-cutting drive in response to industry “turbulence” and a “challenging external environment”.
Even amid that turbulence, Volvo said it “remains firm on its ambition of becoming a fully electric car company”, but just a fifth of its sales in the first quarter of 2025 were electric, and it said “premium plug-in hybrids provide a pragmatic bridge for customers not yet ready to switch”.
The XC70 name has been dormant since 2016, when the off-road version of the third-generation V70 estate was taken off sale. It was originally called the V70 XC, with ‘XC’ standing for ‘Cross Country’.
