A leaked 2026 order guide shows the price on several Volvo models going up by nearly 6%. That’s thousands of dollars on some models – along with higher destination charges, fewer discounts, and precious little in the way of new tech or features to justify the price hike.

UPDATE: Volvo Cars has a response.

When we originally published this article a few days ago, we I commented that customers being saddled with the across-the-line price increases coming to Volvo dealers in 2026 would get “precious little” in return for those extra dollars.

Volvo Cars apparently disagrees, and a Volvo rep reached out via email to share some background on the changing prices. “We evaluate every aspect of our business in pricing decisions, in line with our standard practice,” they wrote. “For MY26, we have made significant upgrades to the in-car technology across our lineup, as well as major improvements to our top-selling XC60 in the areas that matter most to our customers. These upgrades are reflected in the new price structure, along with price increases driven by challenging current market conditions.”

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I asked if they could specify what some of the “significant upgrades to the in-car technology across our lineup” were.

“You’ll be able to see more about the upgrades in our (02JUN2025) press release,” came the reply. “Some major ones include the introduction of the next-generation Snapdragon® Cockpit Platform from Qualcomm Technologies, which Google Android Automotive-based infotainment system to run more than twice as fast as outgoing models.”

You can check out the press release for yourself at the link, then let us know whether or not having a touchscreen that’s twice as fast as the one you have now is worth as much as $3,200 to you in the comments.

Original post, below.

CarsDirect is reporting that Volvo Cars is raising US prices across the board by as much as 6% for the coming year, translating to a $3,200 price increases on some of the Swedish brands’ most popular plug-in SUVs and crossovers.

Based on what we’ve seen so far, the 2026 Volvo XC90 appears to have the largest price hike of $3,200 on the plug-in hybrid variant. The XC90 T8 Core PHEV has an MSRP of $76,200, excluding destination, $3,200 more than the current price tag of $73,000. That represents a 4.4% price hike compared to the 2025.5 plug-in.

In the case of the 2026 Volvo XC60, we found a 5.6% price increase on the base model, which is going up $2,650 from $47,050 to $49,700. On average, we’re seeing a 4.2% price hike on the Volvo V60, V90, XC40, XC60, and XC90, depending on the trim level, with the increases ranging anywhere from $1,800 to $3,200.

CARS DIRECT

It gets worse for new Volvo buyers. The company began quietly cancelling rebates and dialing back financing incentives last month, after the Trump Administration announced new, sweeping tariffs on imported cars this past April.

For its part, Volvo Cars doesn’t seem to be blaming these new price increases on the tariffs themselves, citing rising costs and market conditions instead. That said, those tariffs have undoubtedly influenced the company’s decisions and market plans – especially those regarding the all-new XC70 and 2025.5 S90 PHEV models as well as the new ES90 battery-electric sedan.

Volvo isn’t the only brand raising prices. BMW will increase prices starting 01JULY by about 2%, and Ford raised prices on cars and trucks made in Mexico by about $2,000 last month.

If you’re in the market for a new Volvo XC90 PHEV or EX90 EV and want to avoid the 2026 price increases, it doesn’t look like there are many tangible differences coming (the XC60, to Volvo’s credit, will be getting a series of updates similar to those on the well-received 2025.5 XC90 for 2026). You can find local deals on those models, below.

SOURCES: CarsDirect; featured image by Volvo Cars.

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At the 103rd running of the Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb, electric cars once again impressed as Ford’s Super Mustang Mach-E won its class on a difficult race day where running was limited due to inclement weather.

The Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb is one of the longest-running races in the world, being held 103 times since 1916.

It’s a famously difficult race, starting at an already-high 9,390ft (2,862m) in elevation and finishing at 14,110ft (4,300m), with an average 7.2% vertical grade. Until 2011, the track was largely unpaved on dirt or gravel roads, and it is still not uncommon for cars to leave the track and crash into the woods or, worse, end up tumbling down the mountain. The race is also commonly stopped by rain, snow, fog, or other inclement weather… of the type you commonly get at the top of mountains.

In particular, the high altitude nature of the race (which earned it the nickname “Race to the Clouds”) has always been difficult, because at high altitudes there is less oxygen, which means less complete combustion of fuel. This means that gas-powered race vehicles need to have incredibly oversized engines to do well.

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That difficulty does not apply to electric vehicles since EVs don’t need oxygen for combustion, so for years EVs have overperformed in the race.

In fact, the all-time record for the 12.42-mile (20km) hillclimb, 7:57.148, was set by the all-electric Volkswagen ID.R in 2018, driven by Romain Dumas (put a pin in that name).

So EVs do well here, and it’s pretty common for manufacturers (or private teams) to bring them to show off.

Last year, EVs performed exceptionally well, with electric entries from Ford, Rivian and Hyundai each topping their respective categories.

The R1T Quad Max set a production truck record (gas or electric), the Ioniq 5N set a record for unmodified EVs (which the R1T Quad Max had set about 5 minutes earlier) and was a mere three tenths of a second off of the overall production SUV record, and the Ford SuperTruck set the fastest time of the day, but didn’t set an actual record because it lost about half a minute when it suddenly lost power on the course and needed a reboot. Had it not had that shutdown, it would have beaten Ford’s SuperVan’s class record from the previous year.

Ford’s entry this year: the bonkers 1400hp Super Mustang Mach-E

So, Ford had its work set out for it this year, but it brought the right car for the job.

The successor to Ford’s ridiculous 1400hp SuperVan and SuperTruck is the Super Mustang Mach-E, using a similar powertrain to the last two vehicles, but this time in a form factor that’s actually appropriate for racing (and… kind of looks nothing like a Mach-E, though we’d love to see a Mach-E like this on the road). Instead of a giant box, it actually looks like a race car. What a concept!

The new incarnation doesn’t just look more fit for purpose, but a smaller and lower vehicle helps performance in several ways, especially in a hillclimb. A smaller vehicle means less weight to haul up a mountain, a smaller front cross-sectional area means less drag, and a lower weight distribution means better handling on the twisty track.

The car also has 6,125lbs of downforce, important in the thin air of the mountain on those twisty turns.

And remember that name I told you to put a pin in earlier? Well, Ford hired overall record-holder Romain Dumas to drive its entry again, showing that it’s serious about trying to set a record. The VW ID.R was a purpose-built beast, so it would be a tough attempt, but their driver choice proves they’re serious about winning this race.

Three other interesting EVs ran this year

A few other EVs ran this year, but the others weren’t necessarily vying for the top overall spot.

One is an Ioniq 5N, race prepped by Evasive Motorsports. It’s been heavily modified with a stripped interior saving 500lbs of weight, aerodynamic wheel covers, new suspension, and a new bodykit with enhanced aerodynamics. Evasive previously ran a modified Tesla Model 3 up the mountain, but had an electrical issue on that race.

The next is the confusingly-named Honda CR-V e:FCEV, a fuel cell plug-in hybrid vehicle (more on that car here). It ran only mild modifications supplied by Honda Racing Corporation, with a lowered suspension, racing brake pads, and upgraded wheels and tires, along required safety improvements like a roll cage.

And the most fun one is a “Volkswagen Fun Cup” car. Fun Cup is a European racing series, with vehicles that have bodywork based on classic VW beetles. But instead of the standard 1.8L engine used in that series, this one has been engine-swapped to electric by Electric Classic Cars. They’ve dubbed it the “BugZappa.”

Weather reared its ugly head, as it often does

Pike’s Peak has a well-earned reputation for difficulty, and today’s race put the tough conditions on display.

The race start was delayed due to high winds which were blowing rocks and debris onto the track near the peak. Eventually it was decided that the race would be held only over the bottom half or so of the track – from the start at 9,390ft through Glen Cove, at 11,440ft (see photo).

This put EVs at a slight disadvantage compared to normal running, considering they gain more and more ground against ICE cars at higher and higher elevations where combustion is more difficult in the thin air.

However, EVs still impressed regardless.

How the EVs did

The Honda, piloted by Daijiro Yoshihara, was the first car to run on the day. It managed to finish the shortened course with a time of 5:55.744. It had no record hopes, but given that it’s the first hydrogen vehicle ever to compete in this hillclimb, you could kind of call it a record (but not really, given that weather forced everyone to only run the short course today, so there’s really nothing to compare against).

Not long after, Evasive’s race-prepped Ioniq 5N took its shot and Robert Walker set a more representative benchmark time of 4:23.858. A full minute-and-a-half improvement over the CR-V’s time, even over this shortened course, shows the significant difference between a commuter car and a race-prepped performance vehicle. The Ioniq 5N’s time held onto the top spot for a while, as several gas competitors followed, including Porsche GT4 and GT3 cup cars. It only fell once some of the serious purpose-built or open-wheel racecars from the Pike’s Peak Open, open wheel, and unlimited classes crossed the line.

One of those purpose-built cars was the aforementioned Super Mustang Mach-E, running in the Pike’s Peak Open class. All eyes were on this entry and Dumas as the driver, expecting it to set a top time for the day, and it did. The Super Mustang Mach-E finished with a time of 3:42.252 on the short course, setting the best time in its class by a longshot… but only the second-best time overall.

The restricted running turned out to be Ford’s downfall, as the ultralight prototype racecar, the Nova Proto NP01, piloted by Simone Faggioli managed to set a 3:37.196, beating the Ford by five seconds. The NP01 ran in the looser-rules “unlimited” class, so Ford still managed a class win in the more-restrictive Open class, but Dumas wouldn’t be crowned “King of the Mountain” on this day.

In an interview after the race, Dumas said his Ford would have likely had the advantage if the full track was open, due to lighter air at the top, but that “the mountain decides.”

One more EV, the “Fun Cup” car, will run later today, but we wanted to get an article up as soon as the top qualifiers finished their laps, as the rest of the cars running today are not contenders for the top spot. We’ll update this post later with the Fun Cup’s performance when it runs, or you can tune into the livestream of the rest of race day on youtube.

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