Volvo Spends Big To Take On Tesla, BMW i8 With XC90 SUV

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Tesla Motors’ Model X, which has yet to hit the roads, is already seeing new competition from some of the biggest names in the automobile industry. The latest name is Volvo, a company which is taking the best of both the worlds by combining features of the BMW i8 and a Tesla. The company has already invested $11 billion in this project.

Volvo combining best of both

Volvo has already received 30,000 orders for its XC90 SUV, which is the market’s first seven-seat plug-in hybrid four-wheel-drive SUV, says a report from Seeking Alpha. Volvo’s new SUV will come with Apple CarPlay in November and Android Auto by April 2016, according to Seeking Alpha. Tesla is not thinking along these lines, but Volvo has decided to upgrade its touchscreen to Apple CarPlay and then to Google’s Android Auto.

Volvo is taking a cue from Tesla in updating the software of its large touchscreen over the air. The large center stack touchscreen is the largest in the market after Tesla. Volvo’s model also has a few knobs and buttons for controlling the volume and stopping or pausing the media player. Also the driver can use the buttons and knobs with gloves on. From BMW and its $137,450 i8 model, Volvo has taken cues to design the drivetrain for its newest plug-in. Tesla gets its battery cells from Panasonic, whereas for BMW, Samsung manufactures them, and Volvo gets its supply from LG.

Better than Tesla?

Also there is a lot of guesswork on the price of the Model X. The entry price of the Model S is set at $86,200. The market is expecting that the Model X will either be priced at 10% or $10,000 more than the Model S. By this logic, the basic price of an X85D could be around $95,000. In comparison, Volvo’s XC90 T8 is priced at $69,095, which is almost half of BMW i8’s $137,450.

Many will argue that the BMW i8 or the Volvo XC90 T8 are not in the same league as Tesla, as they are plug-in hybrids while Tesla is a pure electric. But the fact is that not many care about that difference.

Electric car enthusiasts are waiting eagerly for the upcoming Tesla Model 3, while Tesla is busy bringing its Model X to the market. Tesla’s Model X release date is being delayed due to a technical glitch, which is why the company is largely keeping any other official details of the Model 3 under the hood.

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