The Swedish automaker bumped the EX90's starting price by $3,300 to $81,290 (plus a $1,295 destination charge) on May 1. But Volvo didn't let customers with preorders know about the increase until June 26.
Volvo spokesperson Sophia Durr said higher material costs forced the price hike. The company also revealed the first EX90s off the line won't have some advertised safety tech.
LiDAR sensors and two driver-assistance features will be missing at first. Bidirectional charging, which lets the car power your home, also won't work right away. Volvo plans to add these through software updates after delivery.
Volvo CEO Jim Rowan tried to put a positive spin on the situation:
"The whole point of a software-defined vehicle that has over-the-air update capabilities is to continually upgrade that software. We can do that. I think that customers who invest in advanced technology products like the EX90 understand this fully, and they will reap the benefits over time."
But some Volvo dealers worry the price bump and missing features could spook buyers. One retailer said:
"It will make potential buyers stop and think, 'Do I really want to do this at this time given the state of the economy, interest rates and uncertainty about the [presidential] elections,' I'm not in favor of anything that changes the likelihood of someone moving forward on [an order] when their decision is already very much up in the air."
While the EX90s will likely have the LiDAR hardware installed, Volvo won't enable it right away. The company says buyers will get the promised features through updates early in their ownership.
Source: Automotive News