Volvo Cars has chosen the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit to display its new flagship saloon, the S90.

The launch of the S90 highlights the ambition of the Swedish car maker, following an $11bn investment and the recent breaking of ground in Charleston, South Carolina, where Volvo Cars will build its first North American production facility, employing around 2,000 workers.

“We have always placed great significance on our presence in the US. That is why we decided to present our S90 to the public for the very first time at the Detroit show, and why we have begun to build a Volvo factory here,” said Håkan Samuelsson, President & CEO of Volvo Car Group.

The launch of the new S90 forms the second stage in the renewal of Volvo’s product range, which began in 2015 with the new XC90 SUV.

The S90’s concave grille is intended as an homage to the Volvo P1800 and the T-shaped “Thor’s Hammer” lights are designed to make the S90 unmistakable on the road. Volvo describes the new car as a four-door coupé.

“We created our new flagship saloon, the Volvo S90, as a real game changer. It is classy and cool. The exterior is exceptionally well surfaced, with a fantastic stance and the sort of clean lines that are singularly appropriate of a Scandinavian design. The interior masters the art of blending innovative technology and natural materials into an elegant, welcoming and tasteful ambience – Swedishness at its best,” said Thomas Ingenlath, Senior Vice President, Design at Volvo Car Group.

The S90 will be launched with IntelliSafe Assist semi-autonomous drive as standard. This includes Adaptive Cruise Control and Distance Alert, and the advanced semi-autonomous drive feature, Pilot Assist.

The Pilot Assist functionality gives gentle steering input to keep the car properly aligned within lane markings up to motorway speeds of around 80 mph and no longer needs to follow another car. Pilot Assist is another step towards full autonomous drive, which Volvo, is highlighting with Concept 26, which envisions how a car interior could look and feel in a fully autonomous Volvo.

The S90 comes with the powerful T8 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid powertrain, which delivers delivering up to 410 BHP and offers three different driving experiences – Pure, Hybrid and Power.

The S90 also adds a large animal detection function to City Safety system, which is designed to pick up animals such as deer, horses or moose, night or day.

Volvo says the S90 has also benefitted from its recent investment in a highly advanced chassis simulator.

“The S90 has taken a big stride forwards in terms of driving dynamics, performance and ride. We have completely redesigned the Volvo driving experience from the ground up to deliver a sense of precision, engaging control and comfort,” said Dr Peter Mertens, Senior Vice President, Research & Development at Volvo Car Group.