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Volvo will launch its new Volvo V40 at the Geneva motor show in March. The five-door hatchback will give Volvo a much-needed rival to the BMW 1-series and Audi A3 and is spied here in winter testing for a second time.
The Volvo V40's launch was confirmed in December by Volvo CEO Stefan Jacoby. The V40 will be based on a development of the front-drive 'P1' platform that underpins the C30, S40 and V50 models. The V40 is set to replace both the S40 and V50 in Volvo's line-up, but the future of the three-door C30 is less clear.
See the latest spy pics of the new Volvo V40
The V40 is tipped to be the first car to get Volvo's new range of modular four-cylinder VEA (Volvo Environmental Architecture) engines, which will be no greater than 2.0 litres in capacity.
The car was made a priority by Jacoby when he joined the firm from Volkswagen last year. It has been pushed up the product cycle ahead of a replacement for the ageing XC90 full-size SUV.
Volvo insiders have indicated to Autocar in the past that the firm is desperate to compete in one of Europe's largest market segments and consider making such a car "an open goal".
Autocar understands the car will be marketed at young, active families and will be a premium product within the Golf class. Such billing will also appeal to the North American market, which Volvo is keen to expand in further.
Volvo will also launch a baby SUV, called XC40 and based on an all-wheel-drive version of the P1 platform. There may be two different versions of the XC34: a standard-wheelbase version for Europe and a stretched model for China and, perhaps, North America. A four-door version of the V40 for China is another possibility, a car which would be a direct replacement for the S40.
Mark Tisshaw
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