Volvo promises software improvements for buggy EX90 SUV

Volvo’s EX90 SUV was supposed to usher in a new era of electrified dominance for the Chinese-owned, Swedish designed automaker. Instead, the three-row SUV has been plagued by problems from the very start, including blank infotainment screens, faulty climate controls, driver assist failures, and the noticeable lack of a working lidar sensors.

Now, the EX90 is getting a fresh coat of paint, and the automaker is promising a much improved experience. In addition to a new 800-volt architecture for improved charging, the EX90 now sports a computer powered by Nvidia’s Drive AGX Orin system-on-a-chip. This computer upgrade will enable “new and improved safety, collision avoidance, and driver support features,” Volvo now claims.

Volvo is also bringing a host of new features to the EX90 centered around safety. Chief among them is Emergency Stop Assist, in which the car will come to a controlled stop in its lane if the driver fails to respond to a series of warnings. Volvo envisions this working in situations where a driver has a medical emergency and can no longer control the vehicle.

The news of the upgraded EX90 comes as Volvo is staking its future on a 50 percent volume increase over the next five years, anchored by a $1.3 billion investment in its factory in Charleston, South Carolina. Volvo plans on producing its XC60 mild and plug-in hybrids at the factory, as well as a new, unnamed “next-generation hybrid model” by 2030. (No word on the upcoming all-electric EX60 mid-sized electric crossover, which will be formally revealed on January 21, 2026.)

Volvo will have its work cut out for it. In August, the automaker only sold 49,273 cars globally, a 14 percent drop year-over-year and the lowest volume so far in 2025.