Volvo’s latest EV carries on the S90’s tradition of a luxurious and understated sedan with a fully electric powertrain.
After a few weeks of teasers, Volvo fully pulled the wraps off its first fully electric sedan. Fundamentally, we still have core components of the automaker’s identity that’s been with us for well over a decade now, including the Thor’s Hammer running lights and generally minimalist interior. There’s also a massive iron mark logo on the front (though there’s not a “grille” as such), so you’ll still definitely be able to tell it’s a Volvo. And while Volvo may have originally planned to supplant the old S90 with this electric model, it’s deciding to stick with internal combustion for awhile longer after all. So, like the XC90 and EX90 pair of SUVs, the ES90 will sell alongside the tried and true S90 in its showrooms.
Strictly speaking, the 2026 Volvo ES90 is a four-door liftback and not a sedan, since the rear glass lifts with the rest of the trunk/tailgate so you can actually use the available cargo space. The overall proportions still lean into sedan territory though, so you know…tomato, tomahto. In fact, in true Volvo fashion, the flat front end is complemented by a nearly flat rear end, with a kicked in element for the license plate area. Around the back, you get thin C-shaped LED light assemblies that cut into the trunk area, but don’t extend all the way across the rear deck (again, more traditional there). If you move up to the glass section, though, you’ll see an interesting theme from the company’s SUVs: high-mounted taillights.
Volvo hides it decently well with the black roof, but take a look at the head-on and side photos above. Notice that bulge behind the windshield? That’s where Volvo mounts the sensors for its advanced driver assistance systems, much like the EX90. Practically, it makes total sense to be there, but it does pull your eye away from what, otherwise, is a pretty slick and elegant design.
The 2026 Volvo ES90 is just as understated inside.
For better or worse, depending on whether you like actual buttons, the 2026 Volvo ES90 has remarkably few. At its heart, this electric sedan follows the same path as the company’s other EVs (and Polestar EVs as well, for that matter). You get a small digital instrument cluster mounted behind the steering wheel bearing Volvo’s updated iron mark. In the center, that 9.0-inch display accompanies a larger 14.5-inch, portrait-oriented center display with Google Built-in software.
The 2026 Volvo ES90 rides on a 122.1-inch wheelbase, which comes out a bit longer than the gas-powered S90 we’ve had for the last decade or so. The overhangs are shorter, though, bringing the total length to 196.9 inches, or 3-1/2 inches shorter than an S90. Despite that, you do still get superior passenger space, and the ES90 also measures 3.7 inches taller than its gas-powered counterpart, so that helps roominess as well.
The Volvo ES90 can be a sleeper in its most powerful form.
Like the company’s other EVs, the Volvo ES90 will come with different power levels. The base, single-motor model offers up rear-wheel drive capability as well as 329 horsepower and 354 lb-ft of torque. That’s enough shove for your daily needs, but its 5,787-pound mass doesn’t do it any favors in the sprint to 60 mph. 0-60 acceleration, per Volvo’s figures, comes in at 6.7 seconds. That’s not bad, but you won’t be surprising any sports cars in an impromptu drag race.
For that, you’ll need one of the more potent ES90s. The mid-range Twin Motor model ups the output to 442 horsepower and 494 lb-ft of torque. Consequently, the 0-60 time drops to 5.3 seconds. At the top end, the Performance model still packs two electric motors, but Volvo further juiced up this model to 670 horsepower and 635 lb-ft of torque. Though we’re still talking about a big, heavy car here, that level of grunt brings the 0-60 time down to 3.9 seconds, which is firmly in respectable territory.
Range and charging speed are two major improvements
Not that outright acceleration or speed particularly matters with a car that’s supposed to be more elegant, luxurious and understated. To that end, Volvo touts the ES90’s efficiency. This is the most aerodynamic car the company’s built, with a drag coefficient of 0.25. Volvo claims the ES90 is capable of up to 435 miles on a charge using the European WLTP cycle — a remarkably efficient result that puts it in serious contention with the Tesla Model S and Lucid Air. Official EPA ratings will probably peg that figure around 375 miles, provided you go for the 106-kWh (102-kWh usable) battery pack. There is a smaller 96-kWh (92-kWh) pack on the rear wheel drive models, though we’ll have to wait and see what the comparative EPA figure will be on the entry-level version.
Apart from aerodynamic improvements, the 2026 Volvo ES90 also gets an upgraded 800-volt electrical architecture to improve charging times. A lot of automakers are harping on how great 800-volt systems are, and Volvo is no exception: Thanks to that change, the ES90 should be capable of DC fast-charging up to 350 kW with the larger battery pack. The company says that allows owners to charge from 10-80% in as little as 20 minutes, or adding 186 miles of driving range in just 10 minutes. The smaller pack is nearly as capable, at 300 kW peak capacity, though results could be slightly slower since it’s a smaller pack to begin with.
When will the ES90 be available?
Like its other recent EVs, Volvo plans to launch the ES90 in Europe first. Customers over there can order one now, but we’ll have to wait a bit to actually get it here in the U.S. Much like we don’t have EPA range estimates, we have no firm idea of what Volvo’s first electric sedan will cost when it reaches our shores either (geopolitical factors notwithstanding).
When it does eventually land in the U.S., probably in calendar year 2026, it’s likely the ES90 will start somewhere in the $70,000s.
