Popularity of the crossover means more small Swedes to come.
Volvo may have never been said in the same breath as the German luxury marques in the past, but since the revitalisation of the brand following its acquisition by the Geely Group, the Swedish marque has gone from one knockout success to another. Its latest (and perhaps its most important) product, the XC40, is example of that. Despite being Volvo’s first foray into the premium-compact SUV space, the reception it’s received has been more than warm, with some 80,000 orders already on the books and their plant in Belgium working at maximum capacity.
In the first-half of 2019, Volvo will begin production of the XC40 at its plant in Luqiao, China to help satiate global demand for the ‘tough little robot.’ In the near-term, the Luqiao plant (which presently manufactures other cars that use the XC40’s Compact Modular Architecture from Lynk & Co. and Geely) will also manufacture other compact Volvos. Specifically, Volvo’s confirmed that a new-generation V40 hatch will be fielded, with the intent of capitalising on the demand for small-premium cars.
“The XC40’s success has surpassed even our highest expectations. The small SUV segment is the fastest-growing segment in the industry now, and with these additional CMA-based models, we expect to benefit further from that growth.” — Håkan Samuelsson, President & CEO, Volvo Cars
CMA-based models, according to Volvo, “will include fully-electric vehicles and will be sold globally in all major regions.” The XC40, launched late last year, nabbed the top prize of ‘European Car of the Year’ in March, the first-ever Volvo to win the accolade.
A new-generation V40 is long overdue. With the imminent arrival of a new S60 compact saloon, the V40 is the oldest car in Volvo’s lineup, having been around so long that you can still catch more than a passing whiff of Ford when perusing one. A new-generation V40 will not only make better use of Volvo’s range of Drive-E powertrains, but it’ll also offer the very latest safety systems pioneered by the company, including things like the Pilot Assist semi-autonomous driving system.
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