Volvo is reportedly planning a replacement for the
V40, its contender in the compact hatch segment that goes against the likes of
the Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus, among others.
Expected to incorporate design elements from the
40.2 Concept that was shown last May, it will, according to AutoExpress, be
underpinned by the same architecture as the new XC40 and will likely retain the
same wheelbase length as well, thus making its interior more spacious than the
current model's.
Adopting the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) will
give the new V40 access to a variety of engines. These include the D3 and D4
four-cylinder diesels alongside the T4 and T5 petrol units. Since the platform has been
developed with electrification in mind, the Swedish company's compact hatch
will go down the electrification route as well, with plug-in hybrid and
pure-electric versions of the car, similar to those of its SUV sibling.
Although it's unclear when exactly Volvo plans to
introduce the successor of the compact hatchback, we're probably looking at
either 2019 or 2020. The zero-emission variants of the XC40 and V40 won't be
the brand's first fully-electric products underpinned by the CMA architecture,
as this role is reserved for the Polestar 2 performance saloon, which is
expected to arrive in the second half of 2019.
