Volvo is preparing for a future without traditional estate cars – but believes it's already launching models that offer the same qualities.

The evolution of its saloons into hatchbacks like the ES90 and the rise of popularity of SUVs means that Volvo believes it can still cater for people who traditionally bought the likes of the V60 and V90.

The brand has found success with SUVs like the XC60 and XC90 over recent years, and now it has morphed its saloon offering into a high-riding, spacious hatchback in the form of the ES90.

While the ES90 is nominally a saloon, it rides higher with more ground clearance and adopts a sleeker roofline for better aerodynamics, as well as hatchback- and estate-style 40:20:40 split rear seats.

When asked if Volvo could have a future without SUVs, CEO Jim Rowan said: “Yeah, because I think it’s changed, right? SUVs have changed with ride height.

"One of the things that changed over the years is the decision makers of buying a Volvo car over-indexes to women, because they like a higher ride height.

“Then with our saloons, with the ES90 you will see we’ve brought the ride height up, rather than down.

"You get so much room in an EV car. You don’t have an engine, so you can push the cabin forward and get a lot of boot space.”

A commitment in principle from Rowan to Volvo's ‘8x8’ long-term strategy, which will yield eight Volvo models over an eight-year cycle, with a heavy update halfway through each car’s lifecycle, doesn’t leave any obvious product space for an estate either.

Indeed, Rowan said it could end up being a 7x7 strategy, with seven models instead, leaving even less room for niche models.

With a future EV range of EX30, EC40, EX40, EX60 (which will arrive in 2026), ES90 and EX90 models and the China-only EM90 MPV taking Volvo to seven models globally, the only obvious gap is for a smaller, ES90-type vehicle named ES60 that could adopt a more estate-like body. 

“It's expensive to bring different models to the market, it's expensive to keep those models in the market and it's expensive to launch them from a marketing point of view,” said Rowan on why Volvo couldn’t go and explore different niches. 

Instead, he will try to broaden the scope of existing models. For example, Rowan said the XC60’s role will be expanded to fill that previously occupied by the V90.

“Rather than bring a V90, for example, are we better to position that car [the XC60] in a slightly different way? We have the Black Edition, we have the Cross Country edition. So we then now have different editions of the same base car.

"It's much, much cheaper and much more cost-effective for us to drive more volume through that same platform and that same form factor.

“We're a reasonably small company with limited resources. We're making very conscious choices about where we want to play the game and where we're differentiated.”

When asked about the impact that tariffs were having on Volvo’s car production, Rowan said “it had become a lot more complex”.

“We’re lucky that we have manufacturing facilities in Europe, North America and China, so we have that and it gives us flexibility," he added.

Volvo is moving production of the EX30 from China to its plant in Ghent, Belgium in response to European tariffs on Chinese-made EVs.

For now, right-hand-drive, UK-spec EX30s will continue to come from China, but that’s expected to change in the future.

The ES90 will be built at Volvo's factory in Chengdu, China initially, Rowan said “does cut down the amount of markets we’re able to sell” the car in, including in Europe, where it will attract 30% tariffs, and particularly the US, where it would attract 112.5% tariffs.

“So that takes that off the table,” he said, although he added that “he does have capacity in Charleston”, Volvo's North Carolina plant, and ES90 production for the US coming from there is an option.