It's believed that the all-electric successor to the XC90 would be named Embla, as hinted by Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson, who had said in a recent interview that the new name of the top electric SUV model would begin with a vowel.
The XC90 successor would also be the first model to be based on an entirely new electric platform. It would be made at Volvo's plant in South Carolina, USA, and is scheduled to be unveiled in 2022.
Embla is also the name of the first woman in Norse fables. Adding credence is a report from auto website Carbuzz that said Volvo had registered the "Embla" name in October.
Other pure electric models would also get unique names as Volvo sheds the alphanumeric naming system.
At present, Volvo already has two electric models - the XC40 Recharge and C40 Recharge - but they are built on the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) jointly developed by Volvo and parent company Geely in 2017. That platform was meant for combustion engined cars, and to use it for electric cars meant making compromises.
With a new electric platform, the issue of engine and exhaust system become irrelevant, allowing Volvo to offer electric cars that have a flat floor and a roomier interior.
