This was supposed to be an EX30 summer. Americans were slated to zip around in Volvo’s long-anticipated pure EV, enjoying the beach and mountains, and saving the planet by driving a car with no tailpipe emissions.
So what happened? Well, we don’t know, to be blunt, but I speculate below.
EX30 Background
Word of the new and exciting EX30 small SUV hit the Internet in May of 2023 with Volvo’s big EX30 announcement, and its design and features were revealed in June of 2023.
It was a revelatory design, quite literally being simultaneously the fastest Volvo ever built and one of the least expensive Volvo offerings ever put to market (accounting for inflation). Think about that: the fastest and the cheapest. Wild.
Was I on board? Hell yea I was on board.
That’s when I plunked down $500 to get on the reservation list. They’ve still got that $500 by the way.
Why EX30 Delivery Keeps Slipping
If you’ll allow me to speculate, I will: Volvo got caught between several market forces… “changes in the global automotive landscape” [Volvo email]. The first is China. American tariffs on Chinese-made vehicles are high (100%!) and may move higher in the future… because politics.
Guess where EX30’s going to the North American market were going to be made. Yep, China.
Volvo saw this coming and in October 2023 moved some EX30 production to their longtime Ghent, Belgium assembly plant. One problem: assembly lines take at least a year to be fitted to produce a new model automobile, so that line won’t be making them until 2025.
The second problem with Volvo’s EX30 rollout is interest rates… they’re high. That means high borrowing costs to consumers, and thus higher monthly car payments, which means fewer sales. Volvo wants this SUV to hit the market and BANG sell units. But it’s not a great time for that, and with so much riding on the introduction of their first EV designed from the ground-up, they’re going to wait.
The third and, in my opinion, most stressing problem Volvo has for this model is simply that American EV supply has mostly sated Americans’ thirst for EVs. Everyone who wanted an EV so badly in the last several years already has one.
If those aren’t enough headaches for Volvo, the EX90 is slated to hit the streets shortly after the EX30, so now we’re seeing a logjam.
So where does that leave the EX30 buyer? It leaves them wondering if they’ll get to enjoy an EX30 in the next year, and for some, it means choosing a different EV entirely. Remember, this is the second delivery slip, the first slip happening in December 2023. It’s not a good look. I can’t phrase it any other way.
See my photos of both the EX30 and EX90 (prototypes) at my local dealer from April 2024.
