Volvo unveils new EX90 sports utility EV, latest features

Yahoo Finance automotive correspondent Pras Subramanian sits down with Volvo Head of Future Vehicles Gaurang Kalsaria.

Video transcript

DAVE BRIGGS: A switch now to the autos. Swedish carmaker Volvo first unveiled its new EX90 electric SUV at CES in Vegas in January. And our very own senior autos reporter Pras Subramanian was able to get his hands on it out here on the East Coast. So, Pras, what do you think of this beauty?

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: You know, seeing it in the flesh for the first time, actually, lines stood out more. I think it looked really pretty. Probably shouldn't say pretty. Really kind of taut, good clean lines. I went inside it, sat inside. I think it's a very airy cabin. It's different-- you know, it's based on the same footprint of the XC90, the gas-powered three-row SUV. Very important car for Volvo. They sell a ton of those.

So this car kind of has to bridge the gap from that to a fully electric future, and that's what it's trying to do there. So I spoke to their head of future vehicles, Gaurang Kalsaria, of Volvo USA, about using a EV-only platform from this car and why it's so important. Here's what he had to say.

GAURANG KALSARIA: We're able to identify the architecture just for this car itself. It doesn't have to share platforms. So if you look at our XC90 today and then the XC90 Recharge, which is a plug-in hybrid, a lot of the mechanisms are still shared, right? But when you have a dedicated EV platform, you could build a car according to what we're trying to get out of it.

So you see for the EX90, there's no transmission running through. So it opens up the interior space. It's built specifically for the aerodynamics. So the architecture looks into that as well to provide the most range we can. So when you have the platform dedicated to EVs, you can really kind of tailor it to the type of car you want to build.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: So this car will cost under $80,000 and built in South Carolina. So what that means is, it'll qualify for that IRA tax credit when it comes out early next year.

SEANA SMITH: And that will be good news for a lot of people out there. And, Pras, what about some of these features? Because we know what's all about, when you get inside the vehicle, the features that it has. Did anything stand out to you? That huge screen, right?

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Yeah, definitely a few things there. The huge tablet screen there. He said that the EV-only platform allows for a lot of space, a lot of-- an airy cabin, a huge glass roof. The whole thing is glass. But also, I think pretty cool things that Volvo does here, they do stuff like bag holders in the back. They give you little tabs open. You put bags on them. But also, they had a convertible booster seat in the middle. We saw this in the back.

So basically, you just pop open the middle seat in the back, and it becomes a booster. So whenever you have small kids with you and you don't have a car seat, you know, there's four to eight-year-old kids, they can just sort of sit in there. We had some video of that. It's really cool stuff. Yeah, there it is. So watch, he'll pop-- he'll go in the middle. It's that middle seat right there. This is the second row. It'll be three-row seats. And Gau will go in there at some point here. Let's see. There he goes. OK, he's coming.

DAVE BRIGGS: Wait for it. Wait for it.

SEANA SMITH: Wait for the pop. It's going to pop.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Here he goes.

DAVE BRIGGS: OK.

SEANA SMITH: Wow.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: And it locks in place. So you can actually-- you know, it's a very--

SEANA SMITH: That's awesome--

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: --handy thing, yeah. So a little booster seat there for those kind of younger kids when you need it. So I thought that was pretty cool, and I've never seen a car that had that kind of feature before.

DAVE BRIGGS: Neither have I.

SEANA SMITH: And as someone that wrestles with car seats on a regular basis, that is a huge feature that I would love. All right, Pras, thanks so much.