Volvo’s new CEO Stefan Jacoby has prioritized development on a new entry-level SUV as a part of a broader future model strategy, reports AutoCar. The model will fit below the XC60 and is aimed at significantly increasing sales in Europe.
The new Volvo XC30 is expected to hit showrooms sometime at the end of 2013 and is being developed to compete against the new BMW X1 and the upcoming Audi Q3, Porsche Cajun and Mercedes-Benz GLC. It will sit on a four-wheel-drive version of the existing C30 platform, known internally as the P1.
So clearly the XC30 is destined for India. Volvo is hoping that the XC30 will bring more younger buyers to the brand. But to take the X1 head on Volvo needs the SUV to be cost competitive as is the big brother XC60 in its class. It is expected to achieve the same sort of profitability as the XC60, the company’s best-selling model. Insiders say that the Volvo XC30 will instantly recognizable as a Volvo with looks “in the mould of the XC60 but with added visual dynamism and a class-leading interior”.
