Visitors look at the Volvo stand during the 8th China International Import Expo in Shanghai on November 7, 2025.HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images
The last time I wrote about Volvo, it was to warn readers about the seemingly imminent demise of the last remotely affordable station wagon in Canada – the V60 Cross Country – and to highlight the Swedish company’s tariff-related misfortune.
It was then, as it still is today, a tumultuous time for the global auto industry and Volvo has been rocked harder than most. With U.S. President Donald Trump acting like he’s trying to kill electric cars altogether, and Europe scaling back its plan to ban pure combustion engines by 2035, Volvo’s aggressive strategy of going EV-only by 2030 was obviously due for a re-think. Last year the company replaced its chief executive officer, withdrew its earnings forecast, began cutting jobs and planned to cozy up to Chinese parent company Geely.
Now, however, we have a clearer picture of Volvo’s plan to navigate these tumultuous waters. It involves platform and tech sharing with Geely, new plug-in hybrids that put battery power first, an all-new “kick-ass” EV platform offering long range and lower cost – debuting with the all-new electric EX60 SUV – and, perhaps, a new Volvo station wagon.
Volvo reveals all-electric EX60, Cross Country wagon, hoping longer range will win over buyers
Or, at least, there’s a glimmer of hope that Volvo’s 73-year tradition of selling wagons might not come to an abrupt end whenever the V60 Cross Country is eventually discontinued. (Having debuted in 2018, it’s already rather old by auto-industry-product-cycle standards.)
Erik Severinson, chief commercial officer of Volvo Cars, wouldn’t talk about future products, but said the question of whether there will be another Volvo station wagon is, “a very interesting dialogue to continue to have. And I hope I will be able to talk to you in more detail in the future.”
“I’ve grown up in Sweden,” Severinson said on a video call late last year. “I was brought home from the hospital in a station wagon from Volvo. So I have that very deep understanding of the heritage.”
At the same time, he pointed out that wagon sales are down from their heyday as customers migrate to higher-riding small and medium-sized SUVs. “The point is,” he concluded on this point, “we will make cars for where we see there is a customer demand.”
Like I said, it’s a little glimmer of hope for wagon-heads.
While wagons have undeniably been core to Volvo’s brand image, so has its particularly Swedish approach to making cars. Volvo is the lone Scandinavian alternative (RIP Saab) to the dominant German luxury brands. The Swedes offer cleaner, friendlier designs, more relaxed performance and a stronger focus on safety.
However, that distinctly Swedish image could be in jeopardy as Volvo seeks closer ties with parent company Geely.
In its strategy update from November, Volvo executives outlined a plan to cut costs and reach an 8-per-cent profit margin, in large part by sharing more with Geely. The two companies will share everything from full platforms (as on the Geely-platform based Volvo EX30) to cabin-climate modules and other behind-the-scenes components.
“There are stupid ways of doing these things, which is badge engineering,” said Severinson. Badge engineering is a derogatory term for the practice of slapping a new badge on another brand’s product and calling it a day. There have been some truly heinous examples throughout automotive history; the Lancia-branded Chrysler Voyager springs to mind.
“It never works,” said Severinson.
Thankfully, that’s not what Volvo and Geely have in mind here, he said, explaining that drivers won’t see a Volvo with a cabin that looks like some other Geely product.
“There are also good ways of doing this,” he added. “Volkswagen has a model where they can have a Porsche and a Skoda within the same technology base and no one thinks they’re buying a Skoda when they’re paying for a Porsche,” he said. “We will always make sure we are delivering a premium Scandinavian design built on safety, true to our brand. But we might be collaborating with Geely on procurement of, I don’t know, brake discs or dampers or whatever.”
Having sold three million cars worldwide last year, Geely brings with it an economy of scale that Volvo alone – having sold just over 700,000 cars in 2025 – could never reach.
The new Chinese-market XC70 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is an early example of what closer ties between the two brands will look like. It’s the first example of Volvo’s upcoming “gen-2” PHEVs, which are meant to bridge the longer-than-expected gap to an all-electric future. These PHEVs put the emphasis on electricity rather than gasoline, offering 200 kilometres of electric-only driving range, and 1,200 kilometres of total range. In its latest strategy presentation, the company cited component sharing with Geely as reasons behind the XC70’s lower costs and faster time to market.
Given Volvo’s cutting of 3,000 white-collar jobs, you might wonder whether the plan might be to outsource some engineering work to China. But that’s not the case, according to Severinson.
“We’re definitely not developing less in Sweden,” he said. There are two reason for the recent job cuts, he said: finding profitability in the face of tariff headwinds and the completion of Volvo’s software-defined vehicle development effort.
“We are probably one of just a few legacy car companies that have been able to bring a truly software-defined vehicle to the market,” he said.
Getting there, however, was a bit of a nightmare for the company. Volvo’s first software defined vehicle, the flagship EX90 SUV, faced delays and major software problems, prompting an apology. Nevertheless, that massive R&D project is done, which means fewer white collar jobs.
“What it means is we’re in harvest time,” said Severinson. “We’re able to bring more products, more technology and more safety features to the customer at a lower cost.”
Despite the constantly shifting headwinds of tariffs and general economic uncertainty, Volvo’s Canadian sales numbers have been strong, in stark contrast to the U.S. which saw a year-over-year decline in 2025.
In Canada, however, it was the third consecutive year of record sales, with 14,500 vehicles sold. Sales of both the XC90 and XC40 SUVs surged, and there was a slight uptick from plug-in hybrids too. Alas, station wagons are, predictably, nowhere to be seen in Volvo’s best-seller list. But, at least now, there’s a glimmer of hope.