Volvo’s First Minivan Is an Electric Living Room on Wheels With Odd Seating Options
It will reportedly offer conventional seating options, but also a max legroom variant with just two seats in the back.
Vans are making a comeback and I couldn't be happier about it. Kia kicked off the Cool Van Revival with the stylish and immediately popular Carnival, Volkswagen is bringing an electric van to market with the ID.Buzz. And now, the Swedes are jumping in with the newly announced Volvo EM90, an electric minivan that's set to be revealed on Nov. 12.
There isn't much info about the Volvo EM90 just yet, nor can we see what it looks like. The EM90 will be Volvo's first electric premium minivan and it's designed to be "like a Scandinavian living room on the move." Sounds nice and comfy.
Volvo only released one teaser photo of the EM90, a distant overhead shot, but it does reveal a few things. For starters, it looks long, like it will easily swallow up three rows of seating and eight adult passengers. It also seems to have the same hammer-like taillight design of most modern Volvos. The standout, though, is its roof, which features a ton of glass. There's a standard sunroof for the front passengers and then a separate, massive glass section that will provide plenty of natural light for its rear two rows. Backseat passengers shouldn't feel cramped in the back of this new Volvo.
Volvo says to expect at least two or three different seating configurations for rear passengers. There will likely be the standard two rows of bench seats to accommodate larger families, and second-row bucket seats will also likely be an option—given that those are popular nowadays. But there's also likely going to be a third option, however, one that's more luxurious for rear passengers. This new configuration will offer just a single row of bucket seats, providing an enormous amount of legroom for those passengers.
Brightening the shadows on the teaser reveals just one person in a very comfy, lounge-like chair through the massive glass roof. They're sitting right in the middle of the car, without room for seating in front or behind them. It looks like some sort of executive seating package for a more luxurious experience.
The Volvo EM90 is related to its Geebly sibling the Zeekr 009 electric van. It will be unveiled to the public on Nov. 12 and preorders will be available to Chinese-market customers on the same day. Volvo didn't specify when or if the EM90 will be offered in other markets.
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