Volvo is preparing a new model with the index EX50 — most likely, a mid-size wagon

Volvo Cars is seeking to strengthen its position in the European market, for which it is preparing a new model with the index EX50, an application for which recently appeared on the website of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

We reported last week that a new station wagon could appear in Volvo’s model lineup, but that was unofficial information at the time. However, the EX50 index discovered in the EUIPO electronic database indirectly confirms this information.

Currently, Volvo’s model range consists mainly of crossovers, with only two traditional passenger cars remaining — the aging fuel-powered mid-size station wagon Volvo V60 of the second generation and the unpopular flagship electric liftback Volvo ES90. An electric station wagon or cross-wagon could take a place in the lineup between the compact crossover Volvo EX40 and the mid-size crossover Volvo EX60, and in terms of platform, it will most likely be unified with the Volvo EX60.

The Volvo EX60 debuted earlier this year, based on the latest electric vehicle platform SPA3 with 800-volt architecture — this platform has been officially named key for upcoming new Volvo models. Introducing a station wagon on this platform seems like a quite reasonable step, since this body type remains highly in demand in Europe, and Polestar, which split from Volvo Cars in 2017, will begin sales of its mid-size cross-wagon Polestar 4 SUV in September.

As it happens, Volvo and Polestar now compete with each other, and for both, the European market is key. For Polestar, Europe has arguably become its only significant market, as Polestar sales in China were halted last year due to low demand, and this year the company was literally driven out of the US because of its Chinese roots.

Volvo, despite being, like Polestar, under the control of the Chinese holding company Geely, has not yet received a ban on operating in the US, and in the second quarter of this year it even managed to increase US sales by 4% to 42,360 vehicles, although only 4,125 of those were electric vehicles (-38% compared to second-quarter 2025 sales), while Volvo considers itself a predominantly electric vehicle company. Responding to this trend, Volvo is preparing new hybrid models specifically with the US market in mind, which, however, will also be in demand in Europe.

Volvo sales in Europe in the second quarter grew by 2% to 104,259 vehicles, of which 38,115 were electric vehicles (a 25% increase compared to second-quarter 2025 sales). In the so-called Greater China region (which includes Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan), Volvo sales in the second quarter fell by as much as 35% to 24,882 vehicles, of which only 914 were electric vehicles (+20%). With this dynamic, Volvo may have to wind down sales in China in a year or two, following Polestar, to avoid losses.

Let us recall that 2025 turned out to be a loss-making year for Volvo Cars, but in the first half of 2026 it managed to turn a profit: net profit amounted to 1.1 billion Swedish kronor, or 100 million euros at the current exchange rate.