Volvo Cars Drives for Life in Balance with ES90

Volvo Cars has launched the ES90, a new, fully electric model designed to balance the changing needs of the modern driver and their families.

The Swedish car manufacturer, partnered with AKQA for the global unveiling of the new model in Stockholm, where life in balance was put on figurative – and literal – display.

Balancing the car live in front of an audience of more than 200 journalists on a 50m-wide seesaw and navigating the streets of the city, the brand sought to display the move from a life that is full to one fulfilled.

AKQA — working in close collaboration with the in house teams at Volvo Cars — conceptualised, developed, and executed the global campaign and launch event to celebrate the ES90’s promise of life in balance. The project, which is the latest in a decade-long partnership with Volvo Cars, included a live reveal event in renowned Swedish art gallery Artipelag and a global campaign featuring two major live action productions.

Hosted by CEO Jim Rowan and directed by AKQA, the event brought the Volvo ES90’s mulberry-hued concept world to life. Notions of balance shaped every element of the event. From the stylised, perfectly symmetrical architecture to the car’s platform — an engineering feat realised in partnership with Universal Design Studio — to the six major content productions produced for the launch of the ES90.

Outside of the main presentation, a curation of bespoke, balancing installations was imagined, built and displayed for guests — playing into the event’s “Art of Balance” theme and capitalising on the Artipelag’s iconic gallery space. Guests were encouraged to interact with the pieces as visual metaphors for the Volvo ES90’s future-forward safety, tech and design features.

The Volvo ES90’s campaign film, directed by Jonas Lindstreom and produced with Iconoclast, saw its central protagonist pushed and pulled into the air by life’s invisible strings — work and play, friends and family existing in an endless, aerial ballet, only touching the ground and regaining balance inside of the stabilising force that is Volvo ES90.

The digital unveiling of the ES90 continues Volvo Cars and AKQA’s “reveal film” series, wherein representatives of the Swedish manufacturer introduce the brand’s latest models in a series of surrealistic worlds. Building on the success of the Volvo EX30’s “Unboxing”, the ES90 was introduced atop a giant mulberry-red seesaw and fantastically transported its creators from boardroom to boardwalk, c-suite to seaside.

Introducing the Volvo ES90, Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan said, “Life moves fast and we all know how hard it can be to balance all of the things that you have to do, with the things that you actually want to do. Whether it’s work, family or simply making time for the moments that matter most. And we all strive to find that sweet spot. At Volvo Cars we believe that your car should support that journey and not add additional stress. The pursuit of balance is something that we all share. And that’s why we’ve designed the ES90 to help you reclaim your time.

The ES90 crosses the traditional categories of Sedans and SUVs. Its unique silhouette is paired with Volvo’s renowned safety technology and elegant Swedish design to create an EV “truly in a class of its own”.

The launch rounds off the most prolific 12-months for the Volvo and AKQA partnership to date. It follows the global reveal of the beloved XC90 in the manufacturer’s home city of Gothenburg and the cross-country road trip of Volvo’s new flagship, the EX90, captured by AKQA in the “Route EX90” documentary released in December.

AKQA chief creative officer Peter Lund said, “With the ES90, AKQA set out to create an experience that embodies Volvo Cars’ vision of balance. From the live reveal to the cinematic campaign, every element was designed to showcase how the ES90 brings equilibrium to modern life. This launch pushes creative and engineering boundaries to redefine movement, space, and serenity.”