Volvo V40 to be replaced with SUV-coupe

Volvo has confirmed it will not replace the Volvo V40 with a conventional hatch, instead opting for a high-riding vehicle rumoured to be an SUV coupe.

Speaking with

"We need to do something more creative, which is why we decided not to replace the V40 directly," he told the British mag, before adding the car that would supersede the current hatch would be a "higher-riding model".

The motivation to introduce yet another SUV comes directly from a decline in hatchback sales last year that saw volumes of the admittedly ageing V40 drop 23 per cent on 2017.

According to Kerssemakers, replacing the small V40 with a bigger vehicle would also help Volvo accommodate greater levels of electrification, hinting that both a plug-in hybrid and pure-electric versions of the next-gen V40 are in the pipeline.

"We can't launch a car that isn't equipped to be fully electrified," the Volvo Europe boss said.

The new small SUV, Kerssemakers claims, will also allow the Swedish car-maker to fulfill its goal of finally breaking 800,000 annual global sales.

Last year Volvo sold 643,253 cars, which was the fifth consecutive year of record global sales.

The only fly in the ointment for the Volvo is, according to the Kerssemakers, the replacement V40 is still two years away. With V40 production of the current car set to end later in 2019, this could leave the brand without an entry-level model for more than 18 months.

In markets like Australia, this means the Volvo XC40 SUV, priced from $52,594, will become its cheapest offering.

Not that senior Volvo execs will be worried; Kerssemakers says the Swedish car-maker has internally seen a trend of customers migrating from V40 to XC40. With the absence of a hatchback, he expects customers to spend more on the small SUV.

Despite the push to introduce yet another SUV into the line-up, Kerssemakers says Volvo isn't about to give up on sedans and wagons.

"We will continue to offer low cars. We believe there will be a market," he told Autocar.