XC30 planned by Volvo 04 | 01 | 2011

    VOLVO IS poised to go head-to-head with the new BMW X1 and the forthcoming Audi Q3 by launching its own compact SUV, most likely badged XC30. It should enter Scottish showrooms in 2013.

    The newcomer will be aimed directly at attracting younger buyers to the brand and the XC30 will be based on a four-wheel-drive version of the existing C30’s contemporary unitary platform. Commercially, the XC30 is also likely to be designed to provide the sort of profitability achieved by the XC60 (pictured), the company’s best-selling model.

    While no images have been released of the XC30, the five-seater is expected to be instantly recognisable as a Volvo; let's be honest, it's likely to look very similar to the XC60 but with a number of dynamic aesthetic tweaks inside and out.

    Naturally the XC30 will be smaller than its big brother, at around 4350mm in length; that makes it 280mm shorter than the two-year-old XC60. The decision to focus on the new XC30 means the new S40 has been placed on indefinite hold in a bid to free up engineering capacity.

    “I’d rather get two or three cars right than attempt to compete in every market segment,” Volvo’s new boss, Stefan Jacoby said about the decision to delay the five-door S40.

    It's also expected Volvo will offer two different versions of the XC30: a standard-wheelbase version for Europe and a stretched model for China and, possibly, North America.

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    Jim McGill

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