All-new XC90 getting a name from Norse myth
Embla trademark filed with EU
The upcoming replacement for Volvo‘s XC90 crossover is expected to be electric. It’s also expected to get a real name in place of XC badging. That name is set to be Embla, according to a new trademark filing dug up by Autocar.
The Scandinavian automaker applied for the Embla name with the EU’s Intellectual Property Office late last year. Autocar says that Volvo spokespersons won’t confirm the name, but that filing, combined with CEO Håkan Samuelsson’s previous comments that the new name will start with a vowel, make it seem the likely choice.
A production XC90 EV, or Embala, is expected this year and for the production vehicle to be a version of the Concept Recharge that was unveiled last June. Volvo called that car “a manifesto” of the brand’s pure electric future. It will give the automaker its first premium full-size SUV, a growing segment that includes the Jaguar I-Pace and BMW iX, as well as the upcoming Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV.
Embla comes from Norse mythology. She was the first female human, created by the gods along with Ask, so Volvo could continue down this path of using names sourced from myth. It’s a big change for Volvo, which has used alphanumeric names (with the exception of the Duett and Amazon of the 1950s) since its first passenger car back in 1927.
