2022 Volvo Embla: Brand CEO, trademarks hint at XC90 successor

The Volvo XC90’s replacement could adopt the Embla name, new rumours suggest, referencing Norse mythology and its significance to Volvo’s future.

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Next year’s replacement for the current 2021 Volvo XC90 could be badged as the Volvo Embla, new reports and trademark filings suggest.

The all-electric successor to today’s XC90 will be the first new Volvo in more than half a century to wear a traditional model name, rather than an alphanumeric designation – and while the exact name is yet to be confirmed, Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson hints in an interview with Automotive News Europe “it will start with a vowel”.

A search of international trademark databases reveals Volvo filed to protect the ‘Embla’ name this October – the first trademark starting with a vowel the Swedish car maker has filed in four years, indicating it’s likely bound for the new electric SUV.

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Adding weight to the theory is the badge’s backstory; Embla is the name of the first female in Norse mythology (relevant to Volvo’s Swedish heritage), in line with the new SUV’s positioning as Volvo’s first dedicated electric vehicle, and the first model in a ‘new era’ of battery-electric cars for the company.

Expected to draw heavily from the Concept Recharge shown earlier this year, brand CEO Samuelsson promises the Embla will be “born electric”, with a flat floor, “roomy” three-row interior, high seating position and “

none of the compromises that come when you make a combustion car an [electric vehicle]”.

British publication Autocar claims the Embla (or ‘XC90 successor’, as the outlet terms it) will ride on Volvo’s next-generation SPA2 platform, and will offer a choice of combustion-engined and all-electric power – yet will still bestow electric models with a completely flat floor. Parent company Geely’s dedicated SEA architecture presents another option for the Embla.

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It will be the perfect family car in Europe and the U.S., where the current XC90 is very popular today. It will have a high seating position, good visibility and you’ll drive around without having a guilty conscience because you will be driving electric,” Samuelsson adds.

The Embla will spawn a sportier twin from Volvo’s Polestar electric performance spin-off, known as the Polestar 3.

Both vehicles will be built in the same Ridgeville, South Carolina factory, however executives have indicated the Polestar 3 will stick with just two rows of seats (rather than the XC90 replacement’s three) – with teasers pointing to a more rakish roofline – and a choice of single- and dual-motor configurations offering more power than its Volvo sibling.

The new 2022 Volvo Embla – should rumours of the nameplate being used come to fruition – will be revealed next year.

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