[Joxster]

TopGear UK reports that Volvo is abandoning the humble hatchback. Replacement for the V40, the final piece of Volvo’s revitalised range, will be a BMW X2-a-like.

“We won’t do a one to one replacement for the V40, we need to be more creative than that,” Lex Kerssemakers, Volvo’s senior vice president told us. “Do not underestimate how appealing a high seating position is to customers.”

But there is another, more pressing reason why high-riding cars make sense right now. “You can’t launch a new car now that’s not EV ready,” says Lex. “With a low-riding car like a hatchback the question is where do you put the batteries? You can’t add to the length or the width or you start bumping into the segment above, so if you put them under the floor, you quickly end up with something raised like an SUV.”

To be fair, Volvo is on a fine run of design form, so if anyone can make a coupe-roofed compact SUV look half-decent, it’s them. While the UK car market shrunk by seven per cent in 2018, Volvo sales grew by nine per cent, sailing past the 50,000 milestone. Globally, Volvo sold 640,000 cars and is now on a mission to crack 800,000 in the next few years… and, like it or not, a choice of small SUVs is the way to do it.

Equally punchy is Volvo’s target of pure electric cars making up fifty per cent of their total sales by 2025, the other fifty per cent will be 4cyl petrol and diesel hybrids. That’s just six short years from now, barely a life-cycle, and it doesn’t have a single electric car on sale yet. We’ll see Polestar’s, its new performance EV sister brand’s, first pure electric car (the Tesla Model 3-rivalling Polestar 2) later this year, with more to come, which will help, but Lex is talking about electrifying the entire Volvo range here. No mean feat.

“Yes, every replacement new car we bring from now will get a pure electric version, starting with the XC40, then the XC90 and so on. We won’t give them any special branding, we don’t need to, customers simply choose the body style they like, then the powertrain is the second decision.”

Source

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[volkman10]

Next Gen. Volvo V40 could become a Coupe-like Crossover.



Link (Next-gen Volvo V40 to take on the VW Golf)

[reignofchaos]

That is really sad as the V40 is one great hatchback and probably the best car in that segment. I know cos I drive one. However if the market demands pseudo SUVs, manufacturers will make them.

That apart, I seriously hope they get the hybridized T8 power train to India in a variety of vehicles. Right now it is only available in the XC90 and obscenely expensive. According to most reports, you get the best of both worlds - you get good fuel economy with amazing power (~400HP).

[vb-saan]

Quite a fast generation change; Volvo easily run a model for around 8 years. V40 is a brilliant car, but it was the last one standing with Volvo's old design; even the refreshed headlights did not give it that modern Volvo look.

[ashis89]

I have always loved the Volvo designs, maybe because they are rare and stand out in the sea of Mercs, BMWs and Audis. That said, I have the same complain about them, as the German big 3. All their cars have the same design trend. XC60 is 80% similar to XC90 just like Q5 to Q7 or X3 to X5 and then so on.

One thing impressive about Volvo if that article is true, their commitment towards building EVs and proper ones at that. They are focusing on function first and then looking at the form.

[ChiragM]

The V40 is a brilliant car that will be missed.

With the market moving towards SUVs, there are very little chances for small luxury hatchbacks like these to survive. A cross-country variant or a mini SUV slotted below the XC40 is probably the best way forward for the car.

Volvo has struggled to sell the V40 in decent numbers when compared to the A-Class (especially in India) and the BMW 1-Series. While Mercedes and BMW have managed to pull it off with their respective cars, Volvo has lagged behind.

At that price point, people prefer SUVs or large sedans. The market for cars like these is dying.

[isldhn]

Well, I casually started searching for used Volvo cars as I was reading a thread where everyone was recommending a used volvo over the big three germans anyday. I came across many volvo V40’s and S60’s. All 4/5 year old cars were being quoted in the price range of 13-20 lakhs. My question is, with V40 being discontinued, and the S60 as we all know has had a generation change, what would the servicing and maintenance costs be like for any volvo car. I always have fancied the volvo brand since the time they were compared to the ‘last journey’ vehicles . But I have never bought a used car before. Rather it would be my first luxury car buy so was getting a little skeptical in regards to the hidden costs after the one time expense.