Volvo has confirmed that the forthcoming EX60 electric SUV will offer 503 miles of range between charges, which will make it the longest-legged EV on sale in the UK.

That is thanks in part to a large, 106kWh battery, though the EX60 is also more efficient than the rival BMW iX3, which gets 500 miles of range from a 108.7kWh (usable capacity) pack.

It is enough range to drive from London to Dundee (480 miles) without stopping to charge or, as Volvo notes, from Paris to Amsterdam.

The EX60 will also be capable of recharging at up to 400kW, refilling 211 miles of range within 10 minutes at a suitably fast charger. 

Volvo said the EX60, due to be unveiled on 21 January, is intended to be a "no-compromises electric car" and will form the "cornerstone" of the brand's future line-up.  

Though much remains to be revealed, the model appears to have a low bonnet line and a smoother, more aerodynamic design than its combustion-engined counterpart, the XC60.

Narrow front headlights featuring Volvo's 'Thor's hammer' design, similar to those on the EX90 large SUV, can also be seen in preview images of the car.

Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson previously said the EX60 has been "designed and developed in Gothenburg" and "can't get much more Swedish". 

The new technology base that the EX60 will use is Volvo's advanced, highly scalable SPA3 platform, which is effectively a successor to the platform that underpins the EX90 and ES90 saloon. This new architecture will allow Volvo to add both smaller and larger cars to its line-up and can accommodate a wide range of battery sizes.

As with those models, the EX60 will be designed around an advanced software stack, giving it the capability to accept over-the-air updates and extra features.

Anders Bell, Volvo's engineering and technology chief, called the SPA3 platform "100% electric and 100% Volvo Cars", rather than a platform shared with other brands owned by Chinese giant and Volvo parent Geely, such as the SEA platform used for the smaller EX30 crossover.

"Because it's 100% electric, we've been able to remove all the old constraints of the combustion engine," said Bell. "We very much took a first-principles approach to it. You will see the highest level of supremely well-integrated technology coming together in these products."

The EX60 is likely to broadly match the dimensions of the XC60 (pictured below), the brand's best-selling car.

Bell said the SPA3 is “a big step from a mechanical perspective, but from a software electronics perspective it's a straight evolution”.

He added: “All the work we're putting into the EX90 will go directly into the SPA3 cars as well. It's basically the same software stack.

"SPA3 is designed from the beginning to be much more scalable, in size and price point and across regions, but also scalable in volume.

"It's designed for scale in every dimension: when it comes to size, my job is to make sure that the company has optionality. We are designing [the SPA3] to be scalable from B to F [segments], to make sure that we have flexibility and that we can launch the products that markets decide they want when they want it.”

Since all future new Volvo models will share the same basic tech stack, Bell added that it will allow for more focused and rapid development. “Because it’s all one technology stack, there's no repeat of work,” he said. “It's the same software stack, same basic electrical architecture. Yes, it's scalable in size, price and capabilities, but it's not spreading our products in different ecosystems. 

“Everything we do gets married to the Volvo connected car cloud. If you look at successful tech companies, they're all single tech stack companies where all their products are interlinked. Apple is a good example: hardware, software, telephones, laptops – they’re basically all interconnected with the same software. That’s one example of where we need to be converging as a technology company going forward.

"Our focal point is safety, sustainability and creating this fantastic customer experience, all wrapped in this Scandinavian design, on one tech stack."

As previously revealed by Autocar, the EX60 will also be the first Volvo designed to benefit from megacasting – a technology set to be introduced with the SPA3 that allows for entire sections of a car to be created as a single part rather than multiple elements.

That, along with other changes and the more modular nature of the SPA3, will lower production costs.

When it arrives, Volvo's EV line-up in Europe will consist of the EX30, EC40, EX40, EX60, ES90 and EX90, with the addition of the EM90 MPV in China.