The new Volvo XC70 plug-in hybrid has been outed ahead of its official debut, courtesy of new images published by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

Earlier preview images gave a good idea of the reborn XC70's design, confirming that it would morph from high-riding estate into full-blown SUV, but these new images show just how closely it will be related to the larger XC90.

It measures 4815mm long and 1890mm wide, making it roughly the same size as the Volkswagen Tayron, Hyundai Santa Fe and Peugeot 5008, but unlike those cars – and its larger sibling – it is being offered from launch with only five seats.

The MIIT filing also reveals some of the XC70's technical specifications for the first time, confirming that it will be offered exclusively as a plug-in hybrid, with either a 21.2kWh battery giving 62 miles of range, or a 39.6kWh pack to bump that up to 112 miles - both according to China's generous CLTC cycle. 

That larger pack, for reference, is about the same size as the one fitted to the pure-electric Abarth 500e, and larger than the battery in the Mazda MX-30 EV.

The XC70 will be available with front- or four-wheel drive, in both instances with a 160bhp 1.5-litre petrol engine working in collaboration with an electric motor of undisclosed capacity. 

Further details will be given closer to the XC70's China-market launch in September, where Volvo could announce plans to sell the new PHEV globally in response to sustained strong demand in certain markets for hybrid cars.

Volvo CEO HÃ¥kan Samuelsson believes extended-range plug-in hybrids could play an important role in Europe's electrification transition, particularly, which strengthens the possibility of the new XC70 being sold here.

Speaking at the Financial Times Future of the Car conference earlier this month, he said: "In certain regions in Europe, the charging network will be developed later. If you look into the south and east of Europe, it will be slower. 

"The ones leading are Norway all the way in the west. There, there will be faster transition to electrification. But in other regions, it's really a good solution to have a long-range hybrid, because if you look into the environmental aspect, if you have a long-range hybrid, the absolute majority of the transport work will be done with electricity. And so in that way, it will be an 'electric car'.

"If you have a very short range, a large part of the transport work will be done with the petrol. And then, of course, it's not fossil-free any more. So a long-range plug-in hybrid, I would argue, is an electric car with a back-up engine when the battery is flat, which will happen not so often.

"So I think it's a good solution, it's a good bridge and there is a lot of technology in that car which is in common with an all-electric car.

"It's a pragmatic bridge solution to wait for our customers to really feel comfortable with an all-electric car."

Samuelsson stopped short of confirming in which European markets Volvo could launch the XC70 or other long-range hybrids and nor did he give a timeframe.

The XC70 has been designed specifically "to meet the demand for longer-range plug-in hybrids in China" but Volvo also said it will explore "potential additional markets at a later stage".

It is based on a new architecture adapted for long-range PHEVs: the Scalable Modular Architecture (SMA) is said to be "a premium extended-range plug-in hybrid architecture" but no details of its relationship to Volvo's other platforms – or indeed those from the wider Geely group, of which Volvo is a part – have been given.

Fellow Geely brand Lotus is also investing in extended-range hybrids over the coming years in response to lower than anticipated demand for all-electric luxury cars, while LEVC (also owned by Geely) has been using an REx powertrain in its Volvo-engined TX taxi since 2017.

However, while those two firms are using combustion engines as a generator to top up a traction battery, Volvo's new XC70 is a more conventional PHEV. 

Nonetheless, the XC70 will help the firm cater to huge demand for extended-range hybrids in China and its announcement follows the recent unveiling of the new China-oriented Volkswagen ID Era REx concept at the Shanghai motor show.

That car – similar in size to the XC70 – has been engineered in partnership with MG owner SAIC to target the burgeoning market for REx cars in China, with companies such as Li Auto, Leapmotor and Avatr among the biggest players.

However, like Volvo, Volkswagen's sales and marketing boss told Autocar that a global launch was not off the table: "Range-extenders today are already a very big thing in China. They will be of relevance in North America and we are convinced they will also have relevance in Europe."

The XC70 has an especially important role to play for Volvo as the company embarks on a wide-reaching global cost-cutting drive in response to industry "turbulence" and a "challenging external environment". 

Even amid that turbulence, Volvo said it "remains firm on its ambition of becoming a fully electric car company" but just a fifth of its sales in the first quarter of 2025 were electric and it said "premium plug-in hybrids provide a pragmatic bridge for customers not yet ready to switch".

The XC70 name had been dormant since 2016, when the off-road version of the third-generation V70 estate was taken off sale. It was originally called the V70 XC, with 'XC' standing for 'Cross Country'.