The new XC40 will help Volvo reach annual sales targets of 800,000
Swedish manufacturer says "small but premium" XC40 compact SUV will arrive before 2019, and will form part of aggressive sales expansion
The upcoming Volvo XC40 small SUV will be launched within the next four years, CEO Hakan Samuelsson has confirmed.
He said the XC40 will be part of a Volvo line-up that, spearheaded by the new XC90, will be completely new within four and a half years.
Two platforms will underpin the entire range and, in effect, there will be three model lines: the 90, 60 and 40.
Today’s S80 and V70 will be replaced by the S90 and V90. The S90 large saloon should prove most popular in China, a market that will account for 200,000 of the 800,000 cars Volvo expects to sell annually by 2020. The V90 estate will be more popular in Europe.
Further down the range will be new S60, V60 and XC60 models. Despite its age, the XC60 was the biggest-selling medium-sized SUV in Europe last year. That has given Volvo confidence to launch an XC40, alongside a new S40 and V40.
The new models will give Volvo independence from other makers’ platforms and powertrains. “We are some years ahead of the opposition,” Samuelsson said of Volvo’s range of modular four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines. “You can’t get to 95g/km [the required EU range average] with a six-cylinder engine.”
Samuelsson was bullish about Volvo’s move away from large-capacity engines. “Maybe we have to say: ‘Okay, if a V8 is that important to you, you’re probably not a Volvo customer’,” he said.
Plans for the XC40 were unearthed late last year, with Samuelsson saying the new small SUV was a top priority for Volvo once it had finished renewing its existing ranges.
“In four years’ time, the new XC90 will be the oldest car we make, but we see the priority as replacing our bread and butter models rather than breaking new ground,” he said.
“The job for now is to become bigger and more profitable doing what we already do but doing it much better and charging more for it. Only then can we start looking at coupés and convertibles.” He also confirmed that there are no current plans to replace the C30 small hatchback.
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