- Volvo is looking for a U.S.-based battery supplier for the EX90 electric SUV.
- The EX90 is built in South Carolina but its batteries come from China’s CATL.
- Because of the increased import tariffs on Chinese batteries, Volvo was forced to increase the EX90’s price.
Volvo was forced to hike the starting price of its flagship electric SUV, the EX90, even before it hit the showroom floor. Because of the increased tariffs on Chinese-made batteries, the Volvo EX90 now starts at $81,290 including shipping, $3,300 more than originally intended.
Despite the EX90 being built in South Carolina, its high-voltage battery pack is made in China by Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL). That might not be the case for long, though, as Volvo is looking for an American battery supplier that would help it regain some of the lost profits and maybe even lower the selling price of the large electric family SUV.
“We’re looking to try and find if we can get a local battery manufacturer in the U.S. to help us minimize those costs,” Volvo Cars CEO Jum Rowan said on a call with analysts last week, quoted by Automotive News. “That’s an ongoing project for us right now.”
South Korea’s SK On and Japan’s AESC have cell manufacturing facilities in the U.S. or are building them, and either of the two companies could partner with Volvo to supply it with batteries for the EX90. SK On has a factory in Commerce, Georgia–roughly 250 miles from Volvo’s South Carolina plant–that can churn out roughly 300,000 battery packs every year. The Korean company is supplying cells to Volkswagen, Ford and Hyundai.
AESC is building two new factories in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Florence, South Carolina. The Florence facility, which is roughly 100 miles from Volvo’s plant, will supply BMW’s American-made Neue Klasse EVs built in Greer, South Carolina, starting next year. Meanwhile, AESC’s Bowling Green battery facility is set to become operational this year. It will be powered by renewable energy and is expected to reach a maximum production of 30 gigawatt-hours by 2027–that’s enough for roughly 300,000 EVs every year.
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The Volvo EX90 is a three-row electric SUV that’s similar in size to the gas-powered XC90. It’s based on Volvo’s Scalable Product Architecture 2 (SPA2) platform, the same that underpins the Polestar 3. Two powertrain versions are offered, both dual-motor all-wheel drive. The Twin Motor has 402 horsepower on tap and can accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in 5.7 seconds, while the Twin Motor Performance ups the power figure to 496 hp and slashes the sprint time to 4.7 seconds.
There’s just one battery size offered with a total capacity of 111 kilowatt-hours (107 kWh usable) which enables an EPA-rated range between 300 and 310 miles, depending on the configuration. The Volvo EX90 is not eligible for the $7,500 federal tax credit when buying with cash, but it may be eligible for the incentive when leasing.
