Over 50,000 orders but only 5,000 sales: Volvo’s CEO highlights a “risk” for its 810 km electric SUV.

25/10/2026 16:00

Updated to

25/10/2026 16:00

With a range of up to 810 km, Volvo’s new electric SUV, a direct competitor to the BMW iX3, is the Swedish brand’s main hope for overcoming its current sales crisis. It seems it might indeed deliver, as it has already received over 50,000 orders in just a few months… though Volvo is taking a huge risk, as it has only managed 5,000 deliveries and sales so far.

Volvo’s CEO, Håkan Samuelsson — who has already succeeded with its efficient driverless trucks — has not hesitated to acknowledge this sales bottleneck, which now means customers interested in this SUV have to wait up to 11 months. He explained the reasons behind it and noted that the brand will need time to increase production.

50,000 orders but 5,000 sales: What’s going on with this electric SUV?

Samuelsson explained in remarks cited by Autocar that the EX60 will play a crucial role in Volvo’s future to boost sales, calling it “one of the best models that contribute to the company’s profits.”

But he also admitted that bringing it into production is costing more than expected: “If you want to have cutting-edge technology in its class, implementing it carries greater risks than continuing to use more conventional technology,” said the Swedish executive.

In addition, Volvo’s sales director, Erik Severinson, also noted that due to this risk associated with new technology, it has been “difficult to start production as we wanted” for the EX60, as the new SPA3 platform used in this electric SUV requires significant adjustments to the brand’s manufacturing process.

But what risks is Volvo referring to? And what is the cutting-edge technology in this category? First, it should be noted that to produce its new electric SUV with a range of up to 810 km, Volvo has invested approximately 900 million euros… In what technologies was that money spent?

Mainly in two. The first is a new manufacturing method based on gigacasting, popularized by Tesla, which significantly reduces the number of individual body components.

The second is an innovative battery manufacturing process for the EX60, where the 100 cells that make up each battery must be inserted through “an automated process,” explained Volvo’s CEO, noting it creates “a highly complex mechanical assembly line.”

Volvo has identified this battery “packaging” process as the main reason for the delay in EX60 production — remember, out of over 50,000 orders, only 5,000 have been fulfilled so far.

Samuelsson, for his part, explained that “he’s pretty confident we’ll master it,” referring to the battery production process. “We’re getting better,” he said, emphasizing that Volvo is striving to “constantly accelerate” the production of this SUV.