“There will be a huge investment necessary for the SPA2 platform,” Samuelsson said.

The current XC90 accounts for about a third of Volvo’s U.S. sales. Through September, Volvo sold 24,909 of the large crossover in the U.S., up 5.3 percent from the year-earlier period.

Volvo’s first battery-powered model, an electric version of the fast-selling XC40 compact crossover, was unveiled here last week. That new EV will arrive in U.S. stores in the fourth quarter of 2020. It will be priced at under $48,000, after the $7,500 federal tax credit, Volvo said.

The XC40 EV, called the XC40 Recharge, will be the vanguard of a series of emissions-free models from Volvo. The automaker wants battery-powered vehicles to account for half of its global sales by 2025. Over the next five years, Volvo said, it will launch a fully electric vehicle every year.

“A Volvo built in 2025 will leave a carbon footprint that is 40 percent lower than a car that we build today,” Samuelsson said at the event. “We made safety part of the brand. We should do the same with sustainability.”