Volvo to drop alphanumerics in favour of 'real' names

Volvo has confirmed plans to shift from its current alphanumeric naming structure to phonetic badging with the launch of its next-generation electric vehicles.

Speaking with Autocar, brand CEO Hakan Samuelsson confirmed the electric Volvo XC90 successor due next year – previewed by the recently-revealed Concept Recharge – will become the first model to be handed a ‘proper’ name.

“If you look at cars today, all of them are very ‘engineeredly’ named: XC, T8, All-Wheel-Drive, double-overhead cams – it’s all specification on the rear of many cars,” said Samuelsson.

“We’re talking about a totally new architecture, a new-generation of born-electric, all-electric cars with central computing… that’s why we’re not going to have numbers and letters, an engineering type of name.”

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Samuelsson added that the name for the electric XC90 replacement is yet to be finalised, with discussion ongoing within boardrooms of the brand’s Gothenburg headquarters.

Bucking the trend for a widespread shift to alphanumeric branding for electric vehicles – such as the Volkswagen ID, Mercedes-Benz EQ and BMW i ranges – the Swedish marque wants its next-generation vehicles to be given more emotional names, similar to giving “a newborn child a name.”

Volvo is not the only luxury brand to make a similar move.

Cadillac has also shifted away from alphanumeric naming for its electric vehicles, seeing internal-combustion models such as the CT5 and XT6 sit alongside the all-electric Lyriq and upcoming Celestiq.

Volvo has mostly used numbers and letters, or both, for its vehicles since the launch of the ÖV 4 in 1927. It moved to the current naming structure during the mid-1990s – S for sedans, V for wagons, C for coupes and XC for crossovers, followed by a size-based number.

What name do you think the XC90’s successor should adopt?