Electrified Cars From Volvo & Cupra That May Or May Not Come To America

Sign up for CleanTechnica’s Weekly Substack for Zach and Scott’s in-depth analyses and high level summaries, sign up for our daily newsletter, and/or follow us on Google News!

Volvo and Cupra this week announced new electric — or electrified — models that could be available to US drivers — if the cockamamie trade war cooked up by America’s flailing president doesn’t keep them away. For years, Volvo has had two SUV offerings, the XC70 and the XC90. The XC90 now has a battery electric cousin, the seven passenger EX90 which greatly impressed the World Car Awards jury recently. Its combination of a comfortable and refined interior, advanced safety technology, and distinctive Scandinavian design convinced the panel of experts to name it the Luxury Car of the Year.

New Volvo XC70 PHEV

On May 7, 2025, Volvo unveiled a plug-in hybrid version of the midsize XC70, but it is not a wimpy PHEV with 24 miles of battery-only range. The XC70 PHEV is designed to tap into the trend in China of plug-in hybrids that actually have a significant amount of range, a segment of the market now known as extended range EVs, or EREVs.

In a press release, Volvo said the XC70 PHEV provides a pure electric range of up to 200 km (124 mi), making it Volvo’a longest range plug-in hybrid to date. That range is based on the highly optimistic Chinese testing standard. Subtract about 25 percent for an approximation of what its EPA rated range might be, but that is still far longer than any plug-in hybrid currently sold in the US. It’s more range than early versions of the Nissan LEAF.

The car is built on Volvo’s new extended range PHEV premium SMA platform. “The new XC70 is designed to meet the demand for longer range plug-in hybrids in China, where it will be available for order later this year. Volvo Cars is exploring potential additional markets at a later stage,” the company said.

“The XC70 marks our strategic entry into the extended-range plug-in hybrid segment, a perfect bridge to full electrification,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars. “It enables us to maintain and develop a balanced product portfolio, while offering a highly attractive alternative to customers who are not yet ready for fully electric cars. This is also an example of regionalization, where we adapt to the local market needs. Combined with its versatility that offers space and comfort for all passengers, the XC70 is a car for every type of journey.”

Car and Driver says the XC70 could be a “silver bullet for Volvo.” As automakers continue looking for respite from the Trump administration’s tariffs, many are eyeing potential production changes. In the case of Volvo, Samuelsson has said he wants to increase production at the company’s factory in Ridgeville, South Carolina, by adding a high volume hybrid to the mix, according to a report by Automotive News Europe. “It has to be a car with mild hybrid and plug-in versions to really bring up the volumes,” he said.

Samuelsson told Automotive News Europe that he plans to travel to the US soon to speak with dealers about which vehicle makes the most sense to add. Production of the XC90 or XC60 could also be shifted to Ridgeville.

The Volkswagen Angle

The market share of Volkswagen in America has been pretty dismal since Dieselgate. To address that issue, Volkswagen Group has created a new division called Scout Motors. It has said all along it has no plans to market those cars — an SUV and pickup truck — through its US dealer network, a move that has annoyed its dealers to no end.

The likely explanation is that the diesel cheating scandal damaged the Volkswagen name so much that people are reluctant to do business with those dealers. So the company wants to sell its new wares under a different brand name and hopes people don’t notice the vehicles are basically Volkswagens underneath the skin. Dieselgate wasn’t the fault of dealers, but they are taking the brunt of the backlash from it.

According to reports, Scout Motors is also contemplating climbing about the plug-in hybrid bandwagon. During a Motor Trend podcast on February 13, 2025, Scout Motors CEO Scott Keogh shared some specs for the upcoming Scout Traveler SUV and Scout Terra pickup trucks and said Scout plans to offer pure electric and extended range versions of its vehicles.

The hybrid versions will be known as Harvester models — a nod to the roots of the Scout brand that trace back to the International Harvest Company that created the original Scout vehicles. Keogh said the Harvesters will have a battery capacity of around 60 to 70 kilowatt-hours and will have a battery-only range of about 150 miles.

Cupra Seeks A Foothold In America

On May 10, 2025, Mark Phelan of the Detroit Free Press wrote that Cupra — another division of Volkswagen Group — is also planning to sell its cars in the US. The report went on to say the company has already been in talks with Penske Automotive Group. Not only is Penske the third largest dealer group in the United States, with about 200 outlets, but it also operates dealerships for dozens of brands — including Cupra — in Australia, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. “Cupra aims to inspire the United States from its hometown of Barcelona, bringing its design led and performance driven cars to American roads,” the company said in a statement to the Free Press.

SEAT is a division of Volkswagen Group known primarily as a manufacturer of practical, affordable cars. In 2018, it created Cupra as a sporty sub-brand primarily for racing in the European rally circuit. It has thrived in recent years to the point where there is talk that Volkswagen may allow SEAT to wither away and be replaced by the more stylish, profitable, and technically advanced Cupra brand.

If a foray into the US is attempted, the Cupra cars offered for sale will focus on sporty, upscale EVs and hybrids, although some gasoline-powered models may be included to prime the sales pump. “As the first new brand created within the Volkswagen Group, we offer an alternative to the next generation of US car buyers,” the company told the Free Press. “Positioned between the mass and premium segments, we are not based on legacy or tradition. We are an unconventional challenger brand.”

Cupra plans to begin with sales in 20 states “strategically aligned with the Cupra brand,” which presumably means those that encourage EV sales with incentives and low emissions regulations. Regular readers will immediately see the challenges of such a sales strategy. The lunatics in control of the federal government today are hell bent on forcing states to abandon their low emissions goals, because somehow making people breathe more crud is a dream of theirs.

In addition, federal incentives for electric cars are under threat and new tariffs on cars not built in the US have been imposed recently. To address the tariff issue, Cupra says it could build its vehicles at the Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, or Puebla, Mexico. It might also find some space at the Scout Motors plant under construction in South Carolina.

“Cupra is totally unknown to the US population,” Adam Bernard, principal of the AutoPerspectives consultancy, told the Free Press, “[Cupra] is a blank slate. The brand doesn’t overlap with VW or Audi. Does VW want to spend a pile of money to establish an image for it?” S&P Global principal automotive analyst Stephanie Brinley added that while Cupra has a respectable following in many countries, the challenges of the US market will be difficult to overcome. The country’s huge size and population make it expensive to establish a new brand, both geographically and in shoppers’ minds.

Whether Cupra comes to the US or not, clearly Volkswagen is struggling to gain traction in the US market. That Dieselgate fiasco was ten years ago, but its ramifications are still happening. Both Scout and Cupra were supposed to be purveyors of cool electric cars, but social warfare is holding back the EV Revolution in America. Adding plug-in hybrids may or may not strike a chord with customers.

In the final analysis, customers in the US are being denied access to the best new electric or electrified models available because of federal policies. Conservative wackos are always thumping their chests and proclaiming the virtues of the free market, but then they institute policies that limit people’s choices, which is precisely what they always accuse others of doing. Hypocrisy is their stock in trade, but few seem to notice they are being flimflammed by these two-faced charlatans. Time to wake up, America.