When I joined Volvo in 2014, we were going through the first generation of cars that made it premium. Now we’re going through the next generation – featuring more electrification and the benefits that come with that – and also designing for our 2040 circular ambitions. The rate of change in the industry is very different and we’re adapting all the time to find new ways of working. We launched the EX90 at the end of 2022 and the EX30 in mid-2023. They’re the bookends of our portfolio: our flagship with its life-centric tech and our smallest car designed for more sustainability. 

Sustainability is a complex topic. On the exterior, our business looks at the energy used to make the car, and at aerodynamics and recycled content. That creates new design opportunities. For example, we’ve reduced the number of components on the EX30 by designing them to be more multi-functional. Then there’s the materials. Developing new ones can be tricky, given the industry standards we have to meet, but it’s really interesting to see new materials coming through – like recycled denim and flax – to create new expressions and textures. These things don’t hinder us, we learn to design with them intelligently.

On the decorative area along the top of the EX30’s doors and instrument panel, we’ve taken…