Volvo unveiled its all-new XC40 model at the Los Angeles auto show in November, moving the brand into the rapidly growing small-CUV market segment in the U.S.
And while it’s attractively styled and appears to tick all the boxes needed to blend seamlessly into the lineup alongside its XC60 and XC90 big brothers, what’s most important about the new 5-seat CUV may be what you don’t see.
The XC40 is the result of the first real in-depth collaboration between Volvo and parent Zhejiang Geely, which codeveloped the vehicle’s new Compact Modular Architecture and will derive additional models from the platform for the new Lynk & Co. brand jointly owned by Geely and Volvo. Sales of the RMB158,800 ($24,054) Lynk & Co. 01 model, based on the CMA platform, began in China last week and plans are to launch the brand in Europe in 2019 and in the U.S. in 2020.
