Volvo Australia confident V40 can remain a viable option when new SUV lobs
The Volvo small car range is set to boom with the addition of the all-new Volvo XC40 compact SUV, and in some people's minds there is a question over how the Volvo V40 will fit in that space when that happens.
While you may not spot a Volvo V40 every day when you’re stuck in traffic, the brand has had a reasonable amount of success with the current-generation small hatchback model.
Indeed, the V40 is the third-biggest selling model for Volvo Australia, and on a global scale the V40 is also third. Australia perfectly mirrors consumer preferences in other markets, with the XC60 setting the pace for sales in first place, followed by the larger XC90 and then the V40.
But it seems almost inevitable that the addition of the XC40 will see the Swedish brand become one of many that sees SUVs fill its three top-selling spots.
Volvo Australia director of public relations and corporate communications, Greg Bosnich, said at the international launch of the new Volvo XC60 that for a little while the V40 will remain in the top three.
“Certainly for the time-being it will remain the same,” he said, before admitting that there is a certain excitement around the addition of the new compact high-rider.
“Until we see it, it’s hard to say,” Bosnich said of the potential of the XC40 in Australia.
“The V40 side seems to be growing, despite the fact there are other small SUVs on the market [against which the V40 currently competes],” he said, making reference to the fact that the V40 also has a slightly more rugged V40 Cross Country, which currently only accounts for one in six sales in the brand’s small car range.
“It’s definitely an ongoing model for us,” Bosnich said of the V40. “But globally the thirst for SUVs is growing day-by-day.”
Volvo Australia has sold 349 V40 models to the end of April this year, with 69 V40 Cross Country versions sold over the same period. Those numbers are still small, considering that in the same timeframe Mercedes-Benz has sold 1568 A-Class hatches and CLA sedans and 986 GLA compact SUVs.
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