The 2025 Volvo EX90 Was A Disaster. Volvo Gave It A Giant Upgrade For 2026

The 2025 EX90 felt like a rough draft. The 2026 version aims to fix that, with a new 800-volt architecture and some other major upgrades.

Volvo EX90 First Drive

Photo by: Volvo

Suvrat Kothari

By: Suvrat Kothari

Sep 23, 2025 at 3:00am ET

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The 2026 Volvo EX90 gets sweeping software and hardware upgrades.
It gets a heavily upgraded voltage architecture for faster charging speeds.
There's also a new highly powerful Nvidia chip that could help the automaker realize its self-driving ambitions.

The Volvo EX90 was supposed to put Sweden on the map as a leader in electric and software-defined vehicles (SDVs). But while the SUV is impressive, its buggy software turned its launch into a spiraling mess, with lawsuits from angry owners, a Reddit page replete with horror stories related to software bugs and a scathing review from Consumer Reports.

Now, for model year 2026, Volvo is trying extremely hard to right those wrongs with a sweeping upgrade for the EX90. There’s new hardware, improved software, a heavily upgraded electrical architecture and a stack of new features that should finally make the SUV live up to its initial hype.

The biggest upgrade is the jump from a 400-volt system to an 800-volt architecture. That means faster charging. Volvo claims the EX90 can now add 155 miles of range in just 10 minutes of plugging into a fast charger. The company hasn’t yet disclosed the peak output or 10-80% charging time. For reference, the 2025 EX90 topped out at 250 kilowatts and took 30 minutes to charge from 10-80%. Volvo says the new electrical architecture also allowed the company to shave some weight off the battery and motors, thanks to different materials used in the powertrain.

Volvo EX90 First Drive

Photo by: Volvo

The second biggest upgrade is a more powerful AI and software platform. The EX90 will now come with the Nvidia Drive AGX Orin-based core computer, which should help Volvo add more autonomous driving features over time. Nvidia’s Drive Orin basically serves as a platform and a centralized computer for automakers, who can then use it to deliver Level 2+ advanced driver assistance (ADAS) features. Nvidia says the system eventually can also scale all the way up to Level 5, which the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) describes as full automation.

The model year 2026 vehicles will come with Nvidia’s Drive Orin computer from the factory. Owners of model year 2025 vehicles can get the upgraded computer for free through a scheduled service center visit.

“The additional computing power enables us to harness the power of AI, data and software to further enhance safety and overall performance of the EX90,” Anders Bell, chief technology and engineering officer at Volvo Cars, said in a statement. “This means we can provide our customers with advanced safety and driver support features, along with continuous improvements to the infotainment and battery management systems—all delivered seamlessly over the air,” he added.

There are some other small improvements, too. Drivers will now get real-time safety alerts for slippery roads, hazards and accidents ahead. There’s also an Emergency Stop Assist feature, which will bring the car to a complete halt in the lane if the driver suddenly becomes unresponsive.

Volvo EX90 First Drive

Photo by: Volvo

And finally, Volvo says its automatic emergency steering will now also work in the dark—the system can steer the vehicle out of the lane if it senses that it can’t avoid a vehicle or an object ahead in case of sudden braking.

These fixes can't come soon enough. Volvo has been under pressure from its own customers, who are fed up with constant software issues on their $80,000 SUVs. The company's global sales have also been spiraling amid an influx of highly competent Chinese EVs in Europe, as well as new or refreshed models from its German rivals. Tariffs in the U.S. market aren't helping, either, as the company imports most of what it sells here. Now the EX90’s overhaul is part of a broader push to regain its momentum.

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The ES90 luxury electric sedan is right around the corner. And the EX60 midsize SUV—the electric alternative to Volvo’s best-selling XC60 SUV—will launch with the automaker’s next-generation SPA3 platform when it goes on sale in the first half of next year. Now here’s hoping that this second attempt at EVs and software will actually stick.

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