Volvo's revamp of its model range began at the top end, first with the XC90 and then followed by the S90. But by 2019, the first of those cars will be the oldest model in the company’s line-up and its baby cousin, the XC40 small SUV, could be the firm’s biggest seller globally.
At unveil of the S90, Volvo boss Håkan Samuelsson confirmed the plan to build a small SUV and extend the ‘40’ range. “We want to build a broader range of ‘40’ cars,” he said. “Today we only have the hatchback, but we want more, and with the new technology that we’re working on, we will have the means to expand the line-up. “Highest on my list is a small SUV, because that’s where the market is going,” he added.
The XC40 will sit on Volvo’s new Compact Modular Architecture (CMA), which is being developed in partnership with the brand’s Chinese parent firm, Geely. The platform will allow Geely to develop more upmarket products while supporting a more profitable, wider range of Volvo’s 40-series models. These will include a successor to the Mercedes A-Class rivalling V40 hatchback and a compact sedan called S40 which could rival the Mercedes CLA.
However, it is likely that the XC40 which has already been seen testing will take the lead. Test mules based on a jacked-up V40 have shown how much taller the XC40 will be. It will feature an extremely upright stance, making it more of an SUV than the crossover-like Mercedes-Benz GLA and the new Infiniti QX30. It’s likely to feature a version of Volvo’s new concave front grille, but standard editions will get less sophisticated headlights than the ‘Thor’s Hammer’ LED arrangement as seen on the S90 and XC90.
As with the larger Scalable Platform Architecture (SPA), used under the XC90 and S90, CMA will be engineered for comfort more than outright agility. The rear suspension arrangement will be cheaper than SPA’s composite leaf spring setup, most likely to be a relatively simple torsion beam.
CMA will also be engineered for hybrid powertrains, with Volvo insiders claiming the firm has achieved some “strong solutions” in packaging a small electric motor along with the gearbox. Volvo’s head of R&D, Peter Mertens, said: “Small diesels are becoming harder and harder to justify in small cars, because of the costly technologies that are required to make them comply.”
This is an indication that Volvo is considering using a small petrol-electric hybrid powertrain in the cleanest 40-series models – with a setup based around its new turbocharged 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine – instead of a conventional turbodiesel.”
The extended line-up of 40-series models will make way for three distinct production sites around the world. The V40, S40 and XC40 will all be produced out of the Volvo’s facility in Ghent, Belgium, while the XC90 and S90 will be made in Torslanda, near Gothenburg, Sweden, and the XC60 and S60 will roll out of new facility in South Carolina in the United States.
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