Volvo‘s CEO and President Hakan Samuelsson said on Thursday that he expects the brand, alongside German automakers Mercedes-Benz and BMW, to lead Europe “towards electrification” through mid-size SUVs.
The comments come as the Swedish automaker prepares to debut the EX60 — the fully electric version of its best-selling XC60 — on January 21.
The model, first teased six months ago, will be built in Volvo‘s plant in Torslanda, Sweden. Production is scheduled to begin in the first half of the year.
European Competition
Speaking with Automotive News Europe, Samuelsson highlighted the competition between the upcoming EX60, the BMW iX3 and the Mercedes GLC, three premium mid-size SUVs debuting this year.
“That will be really good for the overall electrification market in Europe because there will be a very strong offering in this segment with BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo all competing there,” he stated.
According to the executive, “that might trigger a lot of customers who maybe are not thinking about buying an electric car to really have a closer look.”
Similar to Volvo‘s XC60 — which is the company’s best-selling model ever — BMW and Mercedes already offer the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) X3 and GLC, respectively.
In the past eleven months, the three models have led the premium mid-size SUV segment in the old continent, according to Dataforce data cited by the outlet.
This status leads Volvo‘s CEO to believe that “the three of us could drive the market in Europe toward electrification.”
According to data from Mobility Sweden, the XC60 and the EX/CX40 were the best-selling vehicles overall in Volvo‘s domestic market last year.
However, the platform does not distinguish between the hybrid and fully electric versions.
The XC60 accounted for 17,679 units, while 1,309 BMW X3s and 1,446 Mercedes GLCs were sold there.
In Germany, where Mercedes-Benz and BMW are headquartered, official registration data from the KBA does not provide sales figures by model.
There, Mercedes sold over 260,000 vehicles, BMW more than 253,000, and Volvo above 59,000 units last year.
BMW revealed on Wednesday that the first EV model from its M lineup will be a quad-motor M3.
The automaker aims to create “a new benchmark in the high-performance vehicle segment,” according to the chief of the BMW M series Franciscus van Meel.
EX60 Specs
Built in Sweden, the EX60 is built on Volvo‘s SPA3 platform — which UK country chief Andres Bell described last year as “100% Volvo Cars.”
It signals a move away from the SPA2, co-developed with its parent company Geely, and in which the larger Volvo‘s EX90 and the premium Geely-backed Polestar 3 are based.
Last week, the company announced that the model will be able to deliver “up to a best-in-class 810 kilometres [500 miles] on a single charge in an all-wheel drive configuration.”
Samuelsson expects the EX60 to generate high volumes, adding that it is “definitely a car where you will start seeing good margins from an EV.”
During a meeting with investors, Volvo‘s Chief Commercial Officer Erik Severinson said late last year that the EX60 will be “priced like a plug-in hybrid but with a better profit margin.”
For comparison, the XC60 is priced from €67,990 ($78,900) in Germany and from SEK 569,900 ($61,750) in its domestic market.
2025 Sales and Results
Volvo Cars sold 75,049 vehicles globally across all powertrains in December and a total of 710,024 in the full-year of 2025.
December marked the strongest month of fully electric vehicles since June 2024 for the automaker. However, annual figures fell by 13% to 151,830 units.
Mid‑last year, Volvo posted its first quarterly operating loss since going public in 2021.
The company reported a loss of about $10 billion for the April–June period, with Samuelsson saying that demand remained “under pressure from the macroeconomic environment, tariff-related uncertainties and tougher competition.”
The brand recovered in the third quarter, with $6.4 billion of operating income reported then.
Volvo is set to report its fourth quarter financial results on February 5.
Samuelsson, who led Volvo Cars between 2012 and 2022, returned as CEO in April 2025, as Jim Rowan left the company after three years in the role.
