2025 Volvo EX30 Reveal
Volvo introduces an all-new bite-size EV SUV with a Scandinavian twist.
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The 2025 EX30 is Volvo's first small SUV and will be available only as an electric vehicle. When it arrives in the United States from China, where Volvo will build it, the EX30 will join the C40 Recharge and XC40 Recharge compact SUVs and the upcoming seven-seat EX90 as part of the automaker's EV lineup.
Volvo says the EX30's key attributes include a low price, small dimensions optimized for urban maneuverability, an extended-range battery, DC fast-charge capability, a low carbon footprint, and lively acceleration. Though small, the EX30 seats five people and offers up to 31.9 cu-ft of cargo space with the rear seat folded flat.
The new Volvo EX30 will be available in a base Core trim level, with an off-road-oriented EX30 Cross Country arriving later. Drivetrain configurations for U.S.-bound models include a single-motor, rear-drive version with 268 horsepower and a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive version with 422 horsepower. The maximum driving range estimate is 275 miles, and the dual-motor EX30 will accelerate to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds.
At Volvo's invitation, I attended an EX30 media reveal event in New York City to learn more about the new EV. Volvo paid for airfare, lodging, and meals during the event.
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The EX30 Takes Design Cues From Other Volvo SUVs
Despite its diminutive size — overall length is 8.1 inches shorter than the XC40 Recharge — the 2025 Volvo EX30 shows a strong familial resemblance to other entries in the company's SUV lineup.
The EX30 prominently displays its closed-grille diagonal-shield logo in front, flanked by expressive LED headlights that resemble Thor's hammer. Moving to the rear, large C-shaped taillights cap a functional long-wheelbase profile with short overhangs.
Overall, the EX30's conservative yet compelling design is classic Volvo. This new EV has an approachable, clean, and tidy look, naturally infused with Scandinavian practicality.
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Volvo EX30 Buyers Can Choose From Four Interior Styles
While the EX30's exterior aligns with the automaker's existing design language, the cabin has some surprises for buyers.
Once inside, you'll spot a high-resolution, 12.3-inch portrait-mounted display centered on the dashboard. It replaces traditional instrumentation and is the sole reference point for driving data, infotainment features, and climate functions.
In addition, Volvo moved the switchgear for the power windows and door locks from the door panels to the center console, freeing up storage space for beverage containers and other items in the door pockets. Volvo also migrated the glovebox to the lower center of the dashboard, where it is equally accessible to the driver and front passenger.
Volvo's latest SUV is full of other nifty storage solutions. Between the front seats, the center console features two slide-out bins. The upper one slides forward and includes provisions for two cupholders and a tray for a smartphone or other items you might want to keep handy. The lower bin slides rearward, allowing passengers to stow smaller items. With the EX30's flat floor design, Volvo added an illuminated floor-level tray ahead of the console, equipped with bomb-bay-style doors to provide a concealed storage solution.
As with other electric Volvos, there isn't a system start/stop pushbutton. Instead, a seat sensor initializes the system, and when the driver steps on the brake pedal and twists the steering-column-mounted gear stalk to Drive or Reverse, the EX30 "starts." The standard power-operated front seats have simplified controls with a single joystick for adjustment functions.
Beyond the practical, EX30 buyers can choose between four interior design themes Volvo calls rooms. Dubbed Breeze, Indigo, Mist, and Pine, the rooms are reminiscent of Audi's themed interior "atmospheres" of the early 2000s, albeit focusing on recycled and renewable materials rather than animal skins, exotic woods, and premium decorative metal.
The EX30's recycled materials include denim fibers from blue jeans, aluminum from window frames, polyester from textiles, and carpeting from PET bottles. Renewable materials include woven flax from linseed plants, wool, and biomaterials made from Scandinavian pine oil.
Despite the material substitutions, I found the EX30's roomy front seats comfortable, offering the expected generous thigh, torso, and back support for which Volvos are known. Rear-seat space is on par with other small SUVs. There is plenty of headroom at 38.3 inches, but the tight 32.3 inches of rear legroom proved a bit cozy for my six-foot frame.
The maximum cargo capacity with the rear seat folded is 31.9 cu-ft. Volvo does not provide a measurement for space behind the back seat.
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Ambient Interior Lighting and Soundscapes Greet EX30 Passengers
Like other new Volvos, the EX30 uses an Android-based infotainment system featuring Google Maps navigation with real-time traffic information, Google Assistant for simple-language voice commands, the Google Play Store, wireless Apple CarPlay capability, and 5G connectivity where available. The sound system eliminates speakers from the door panels, replacing them with a sound bar that runs the entire dashboard width. In addition, an EX30 smartphone app gives access to remote services such as vehicle locking and unlocking, and Volvo offers digital key smartphone access to the EV.
At the media event in New York, the infotainment system inside the display vehicle was inactive, but Volvo had operational 12.3-inch screens set up on tables to try out the system. The high-resolution screen offered vivid colors and large, easy-to-see icons with generously sized type fonts that should be easy to find and interact with on the fly.
In addition to the infotainment tech, ambient interior lighting themes inspired by Scandinavian landscapes add to the mood. They subtly shift in color, and at the driver's request, a matching ambient soundscape accompanies each theme. They include the northern lights, dappled sunlight in a Scandinavian forest, a seascape sunset, and midsummer Swedish skies.
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Volvo Packs the EX30 With Safety Features
Volvo plans to equip the EX30 with numerous safety features. For example, the EV will offer a safe-exit alert system that sends visual and audible alerts if the driver or a passenger attempts to open a door into the path of a passing pedestrian, cyclist, or vehicle.
Other standard EX30 safety features include a driver-attention monitor that can detect a drowsy or distracted driver; a forward-collision warning and automatic emergency braking system that can detect cross traffic at intersections and automatically stop the EX30 if necessary; and an extra airbag mounted inside the inboard seatback cushion of the driver's seat to help reduce injuries in a side-impact collision.
Options will include the latest version of Pilot Assist, which combines adaptive cruise control and lane-centering assist. In the EX30, Pilot Assist can make an automatic lane change when the driver activates the turn signal and the adjacent lane is clear of traffic.
The latest version of Park Pilot Assist is also available on the EX30, an automatic parking-assist system that, upon detecting an open parking spot, enables semi-autonomous, driver-supervised, hands-free operation of the EV's steering, accelerator, and brakes during parking.
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The EX30 By the Numbers
There are two powertrains for the U.S.-spec Volvo EX30. The standard single-motor, extended-range rear-wheel drive model has 268 horsepower and 253 lb-ft of torque. The available dual-motor, all-wheel-drive performance model has 422 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque.
Volvo claims the single-motor model will accelerate to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds, while the dual-motor variant requires a mere 3.4 seconds. When it appears in dealer showrooms in the first half of 2024, the dual-motor EX30 will be the quickest-accelerating Volvo available.
An extended-range 69-kWh battery is standard in every EX30. The estimated driving range is 275 miles for the single-motor model and 265 miles for the dual-motor version. Volvo estimates it will take about 30 minutes to recharge the battery from 10% to 80% when using a 150-kW DC fast charger.
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Volvo says the base price for the EX30 will be about $35,000, not including the destination charge, and the company is currently taking preorder deposits from its U.S. customers. Production begins in China in late 2023, with the first EX30s arriving at U.S. dealers in early 2024.
When it goes on sale, the Volvo EX30 will compete with other small luxury SUVs, whether or not they have an electrified drivetrain. Depending on how the market might change, alternatives may include the Audi Q3, BMW X1, Cadillac XT4, Mercedes-Benz GLA, and Lexus UX.
All vehicle pricing includes MSRP plus destination charges (set at the time of publication) and will be rounded to the nearest thousand.
