All-new Volvo XC90 flying out showroom doors

Furthermore, says Volvo, an overwhelming 76 per cent of early orders have been for the top-spec XC90 Inscription variant, something it claims entrenches its positioning as a prestige brand. 

Volvo Cars announced today that it had received nearly 57,000 orders globally for the new XC90 (which replaced the ancient, 12-year old first-generation model) already, outstripping forecast sales for this year of 50,000. To meet demand Volvo is running three shifts at its plant in Torslanda, Sweden.

It’s a similar story in Australia, where the second-generation XC90 was launched a few weeks ago, according Volvo Car Australia managing director Kevin McCann

“The All-New XC90 went on sale in Australia on August 8, and we’ve been delighted by the overwhelming positive reaction from customers and dealers so far. We are confident that the All-New XC90 will follow in the footsteps of its predecessor and establish itself as the leading seven-seat luxury SUV in Australia,” he said.

This mirrors a line that McCann was stating at the launch, where he controversially claimed that the XC90 had the goods to eventually outsell a number of popular seven-seaters in the market, including the just-launched all-new Audi Q7.

“To support the launch of the XC90 Volvo Cars is running the biggest marketing campaign in a decade, and this has already resulted in significant number of customer orders and test drive bookings,” McCann added.

“With 76 per cent of customers choosing the top end Inscription model globally, it is fair to say that Volvo has now entrenched our position as a prestige car maker.”

This is reflected in its pricing, which is up as much as $20,000 at base level over the old version. As we know, pricing ranges from $89,950 to $122,950 before on-road costs. The single-spec new Audi Q7 costs $103,900.

As we have reported, the second-generation Volvo XC90 marks the beginning of a new chapter in Volvo’s history, capturing its future design direction, incorporating its own range of new technologies and utilising its new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) technology.

Volvo, owned by Chinese car-maker Geely, is aiming to almost double sales to around 800,000 cars a year in the medium term.

Read our full wrap on Australian Volvo XC90 pricing and specifications here, and read/watch our first local review here.