Head-turning new family SUV revealed: The 2026 Volvo XC70 is a plug-in hybrid SUV rival for the Land Rover Discovery Sport, Lexus NX, and Mazda CX-60 and potentially bound for an Australian launch

Volvo is following the recent trend of carmakers reviving previous nameplates as higher-riding SUVs, and the latest is the XC70.

The new Volvo XC70 has been globally revealed and is set to launch in China later this year.

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This new Volvo model slots above the XC60 as a slightly larger and more spacious mid-size SUV offering, but still sits beneath the large XC90.

It’s built on Volvo’s 'Scalable Product Architecture' (SPA) platform, like the XC60, XC90, S60, and S90, among others.

Volvo dubs the XC70 its first “extended-range plug-in hybrid”.

While the Swedish-Chinese carmaker hasn’t fully detailed the car’s powertrain, it claims it can travel up to 200km on electric power alone, according to relatively lenient CLTC testing.

Accompanying the reveal is a handful of images showing the XC70’s exterior, with Volvo noting more details will be provided in the coming months.

At the front the XC70 has a shield-like closed grille similar to the brand’s electric models, and features an active grille shutter.

There is also the classic 'Thor’s Hammer' headlight design which features matrix LED technology. This allows the headlights to stay on high-beam for as long as possible, as it can dip certain portions of the beam when it detects oncoming lights oncoming or tail-lights ahead.

The XC70’s side profile is distinctly SUV-like, and around the back there are vertical C-shaped tail-lights integrated into the rear window.

Volvo is far from the first carmaker to revive nameplates previously used on spacious wagons or people movers, and relaunch them as SUVs.

Recent examples include the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Renault Megane E-Tech and Scenic and Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, among others.

The Volvo XC70 nameplate originated as a high-riding and more off-road-focused version of the V70 wagon, much like the Subaru Outback.

Initially called the V70 XC, the XC70 name was introduced in 2003 to align with the newly introduced XC90.

It was sold in Australia all the way up to 2016 when the model was retired globally.