More SUVs on the way from Volvo
The XC60 sports utility vehicle is still two years away from Volvo showrooms, but a baby brother is being planned – and other new models in the same vein could follow. That’s the message from the Swedish car maker’s vice-president of brand, business and product strategy, Lex Kerssemakers. Unveiled as a concept early this month at the Detroit Motor Show, the XC60 (above) will go on sale in early 2009 alongside the larger XC90 and V70-based XC70. It’ll be virtually unchanged from the Detroit concept shown here.
‘My job is to fill in the numbers…’
Kerssemakers told CAR Online: ‘We are happy with our S range of saloons; there will be no additional model that will go higher than the S80. And we are happy with our range of C cars, the C30 and C70. The next step for us will be growth of the XC range we created 10 years ago.’ And dropping the biggest clue yet that more than car was on the way, he added: ‘My job is to fill in some of the numbers between XC10 and XC90 [above]. We can do this – there’s space for them.’
New estate models also planned
The most likely starting point will be the recently unveiled C30 (above), which could spawn a load-lugger or a compact lifestyle off-roader badged XC30 and slated for a 2010 arrival. An XC50 is also possible. In 2010, Volvo intends to launch the V90 which is described in-house as ‘an R-class that really works’. Sexier and sleeker than the XC models, the V90 combines the practicality of a wagon with the muscular stance of a sports car. Conceived as a highly versatile four-to-six-seater, the new flagship will offer 4WD, a V8 and a new dual-clutch transmission.
So will Volvo do another sports car then?
Not according to Kerssemakers. There are no plans for a successor to the P1800 (above) and he warned fans not to look beyond the current model strategy, adding ‘halo cars’ such as sporty two-seaters weren’t going to happen. ‘We have so many ideas with V and XC models that I don’t see us expanding beyond that. It’s not us; we have a framework and every new vehicle should fit into that.’ The Swedish firm plans to grow production from 420,000 units last year to 600,000 by 2010.