Volvo’s Ridgeville Plant Now Assembling the EX90
Volvo’s Ridgeville, South Carolina plant has finally started assembling the EX90 battery-electric SUV after a delay of about eight months. The original plan was to begin production toward the end of 2023 so that dealers could have models in showrooms early this year. However, unexpected complexities with integrating the EX90’s Iris lidar system and Sentinel software by Luminar Technologies led to the production delay. Despite this setback, the first customer car in Denim Blue is set to be delivered later this year.
Reservation List and Early Success
Volvo’s EX90 generated significant interest before production even began, with the reservation list filling up quickly, prompting Volvo to shut it down sooner than expected. The company’s CEO, Jim Rowan, emphasized the significance of the lidar system being included as a standard feature on all EX90 trims. This marks the first time Volvo has integrated lidar into its safety stack, prioritizing operational efficiency.
Technological Advancements and Challenges
The complexity of integrating the Iris lidar system and Sentinel software was compounded by the new VolvoCars.OS software platform running on a core computing system developed with Nvidia. This system, powered by Drive Orin chips, enables advanced vision processing, artificial intelligence, and infotainment functions. The shift towards separating hardware from software allows Volvo to introduce more frequent hardware upgrades, ensuring that new models are equipped with the latest technology.
Learning Opportunities and Future Applications
Despite the production delay, Volvo sees an opportunity to refine its technology and coding processes, which will benefit future models and a transition to the Global Product Architecture. The insights gained from integrating lidar into the EX90 will be applied to future Volvo offerings, enhancing safety and performance across the lineup.
Plant Performance and Sales Growth
In addition to producing the EX90, Volvo’s Ridgeville plant has seen a surge in sales of the S60 sedan, with year-to-date sales up 255% compared to the previous year. This positive performance underscores the plant’s ability to adapt to changing market demands and deliver high-quality vehicles to customers.