Volvo’s plans to completely promote all-electric automobiles by 2030 kicked off Wednesday with the reveal of its EX90 – the primary in a brand new lineup of EVs for the Swedish automaker.

The carmaker is looking the seven-seat SUV its new flagship automobile, beginning at just below $80,000. The corporate mentioned manufacturing of the automotive is predicted to start within the U.S. subsequent yr in South Carolina, with manufacturing in China to observe. U.S. buyer deliveries are scheduled to start in early 2024, Volvo mentioned.

The EX90 resembles Volvo Automobiles’ present lineup of automobiles. On a full cost, the automotive is predicted to attain as much as 300 miles of vary, based on the corporate. The inside is trendy, minimalistic – a development made well-liked by Tesla – with a big middle management display and small driver info cluster behind the steering wheel.

The automotive additionally marks the introduction of Luminar Applied sciences’ lidar system as customary gear in a commercially constructed automobile. Many within the automotive business imagine lidar is the next-generation of security know-how and a step nearer to extra highly-automated or autonomous automobiles.

Lidars, or gentle detection and ranging programs, can sense environment and assist vehicles keep away from obstacles. They use gentle to create high-resolution pictures that present a extra correct view of environment than cameras or radar alone.

All EX90s will come customary with a lidar sensor and associated software program from Florida-based Luminar.

Superior driver-assist and autonomous-vehicle programs may also use lidar to assist decide the automobile’s exact location, by evaluating the 3D pictures created by the sensor to detailed maps. Volvo’s choice to make a lidar system customary gear within the EX90 will assist assist future upgrades to the automobile’s driver-assist software program and, finally, self-driving software program.

For Luminar, Volvo’s choice to make the corporate’s Iris lidar sensor customary on the EX90 is a serious win that validates a key a part of its longtime technique – supporting driver-assist applied sciences that search to help a human driver, not substitute the motive force.

“From the beginning, Luminar’s technique has been to get this life saving know-how within the palms of as many individuals as potential – by first specializing in enabling superior security and unlocking autonomy for customers with manufacturing automobile applications,” mentioned Luminar CEO Austin Russell. “A giant a part of what makes the Volvo EX90 so distinctive and daring is that it is democratizing security by together with the lidar as customary on each automobile.”

Beginning with the EX90, Volvo, which is owned by China-based Geely Holding Group, plans to disclose one new totally electrical automotive every year because it strikes to completely provide EVs by 2030.