Volvo ups sticker price on new EX90 EV by $3,300 despite missing features

Early buyers of the Volvo EX90 will get less technology while paying more than expected when the three-row electric crossover goes on sale at the end of the year.

Volvo has bumped up sticker prices by $3,300 across the EX90 lineup — a move that could trigger order cancellations and dampen sales.

Volvo's website now lists the base price as $81,290, including a $1,295 shipping charge. A Nov. 30 press release from Volvo said the EX90 would start at $77,990.

The Swedish automaker did not publicize the change, and four dealers told Automotive News they weren't aware of the new price.

In an email exchange with a reservation holder in Seattle viewed by Automotive News, Volvo Car USA's head of customer care, Joe Origoni, said the EX90's price was raised May 1.

The reservation holder, who asked not to be identified, said he placed his order Nov. 30 and discovered the higher price when he went to configure his seven-seat EX90 Ultra model in late July.

Volvo spokesperson Sophia Durr attributed the price increase to higher material costs. She said the adjustment was announced to retailers and preorder customers June 26 and the website was updated the same day.

Durr also said no "firm orders or non-refundable deposits" were placed before the price change was announced. Durr said EX90 demand is "robust" and Volvo does not expect the price increase to change that.

But a Volvo retailer said the price increase would lead to order cancelations and slow demand for the electric vehicle when Volvo's EV sales in the U.S. are tanking.

"It will make potential buyers stop and think, 'Do I really want to do this at this time given the state of the economy, interest rates and uncertainty about the [presidential] elections,' " said the dealer, who asked to not be identified. "I'm not in favor of anything that changes the likelihood of someone moving forward on [an order] when their decision is already very much up in the air."

In addition to the price increase, the U.S.-made EX90 will launch without several safety and entertainment features including the lidar system, two advanced driver-assistance programs and bidirectional charging functionality. Volvo has not specified when those features will arrive via software updates.

Volvo CEO Jim Rowan downplayed the delays when asked about them during an analyst presentation July 18.

"The whole point of a software-defined vehicle that has over-the-air update capabilities is to continually upgrade that software. We can do that," he said. "I think that customers who invest in advanced technology products like the EX90 understand this fully, and they will reap the benefits over time."

Volvo told dealers about 5 percent of the vehicle's more than 10,000 U.S. preorders have been canceled because of the delay.

But a Volvo retailer said about 40 percent of his EX90 reservations have evaporated.

"People that put the initial deposits are early adopters," said the dealer, who requested not to be identified. "They want the latest and greatest tech."

The EX90 reservation holder said he feels that Volvo has reneged on both product capability and price.

"Volvo is delaying a lot of features that make this car special without adequately adjusting the [price] of the car," he said. "Without these features, the car is an overpriced disappointment."

The reservation holder said Volvo has not provided a clear timeline for when the missing features will be activated. Origoni, in an email, said that would happen during the "early ownership" period.

The person said he understands that automakers adjust new model pricing for many reasons but was put off by how quietly Volvo did so. He said he plans to cancel the order and consider another brand.

"We fell in love with the promise of the car and the promise is not anything like the reality," he said. "We don't know how much more this whole situation will deteriorate by the time the cars are actually available."

The EX90, which debuts on the all-electric SPA2 platform, is one of two next-generation battery crossovers that Volvo hopes will propel it to an all-electric future in 2030. But the brand has had a rough start with the next-gen EVs.

It delayed EX90 deliveries by more than a year for software-related issues. Production started at Volvo's Ridgeville, S.C., factory in June.

Volvo also has stumbled with the subcompact EX30, billed as the brand's least expensive EV. Following its European launch in January, the nearly 72,000 built were recalled in June to fix a software bug with the center display. In late June, Volvo said it would delay the U.S. launch of the EX30 by more than a year because of increased tariffs on vehicles made in China.