Volvo confirms ‘XC40’ baby SUV

VOLVO boss Hakan Samuelsson revealed at the 2014 Paris Motor Show that an ‘XC40’ baby SUV is in development, but won’t reach showrooms until 2018.

While the company’s second-generation XC90 SUV was one of the most important debutantes at Paris, it’s what is in the Swedish pipeline that piqued our interest.

Top of the list in terms of importance if not timing is the long-awaited XC40 – a proper baby compact SUV to be spun off Volvo’s future small-car architecture that replaces the 2012-vintage Ford Focus-based V40.

“We are developing the smaller CMA platform together with [Chinese owners] Geely that is designed to replace first of all the V40,” the Volvo Cars CEO told Wheels.

“But it is also designed to cover more bodystyles than just a hatchback, and a small SUV is high on the list of vehicles that we should have.”

Don’t hold your breath, though, for the current V40 is just two years into its lifespan.

Samuelsson reckons it will be four years before we see such a beast.

That’s a better turnaround than the new XC90, which replaces a model that first saw the light of day 13 years ago.

Coming sooner than the XC40 will be the long-rumoured S90 luxury sedan, which is set to surface next year and will be derived from the new XC90’s SPA scalable architecture.

The S90 is also believed to be the basis of a V90 wagon as well as the eventual replacements for the long-running S80, V70 and XC70 models.

While Samuelsson said he hasn’t forgotten about sporty vehicles – referring to the Geneva motor show-starring Concept Estate that harks back to the classic 1800 ES of the early 1970s – there are more important models to roll out first.

“The first priority is to produce the bread and butter vehicles,” he said. “Once we’re through that process after the next four years, we’ll have to look; it’s not included in the first wave.”

Samuelsson said that public response to the Concept Estate caught Volvo by surprise, far outstripping the earlier XC Coupe Concept that debuted at the Detroit show in January.