Volvo will launch a second electric car based on its new SPA3 platform in Europe next year, after the EX60 SUV.
Primed to begin deliveries after summer, the new model will target “a large lower-priced market segment” than the EX60, which ranges from £57,000-£70,000.
The new model is one of 13 new cars Volvo will launch globally by 2030 and will be designed and engineered primarily for the European market, in line with the company’s new regionalised product development strategy.
Volvo is also working on a new flagship SUV for the US, based on the XC90’s SPA2 platform, and six models specifically for China based on modular architecture from parent company Geely.
Volvo hasn't given any firm details of the next SPA3 car, but that early hint at its positioning would suggest a smaller SUV aimed at Europe’s most popular C-segment, where Volvo currently fields the ageing XC40 - recently facelifted after nearly a decade on the market.
Available with petrol and electric power, the XC40 remains Volvo’s second best-selling model line after the XC60, for which the new EX60 serves as an electric equivalent.
It's possible that the new volume-focused model will replace the EX40 EV, which starts at £44,000, with the ICE-powered XC40 remaining on sale atop the CMA platform.
Volvo has previously said that its new European line-up will eventually include “new low- and high-body types”, hinting at a return to the saloon and estate segments from which it has pulled back in recent years - but the second SPA3 car’s volume focus means an SUV is more likely, given the much greater popularity of taller cars in the region.
The platform can be used for cars ranging in size from the EX30 (4.2m long) to the EX90 (5.0m) and has been engineered to offer packaging flexibility - meaning the battery cells can be rearranged within the floorpan to accommodate different vehicle shapes.
The SPA3 platform introduces a number of significant developments from its SPA2 predecessor, including a new cell-to-body battery design, megacasting production that reduces the number of individual parts and new-generation drivetrain hardware that boosts efficiency and dynamics.
Volvo said that introducing a second, higher-volume model atop SPA3 will accelerate its efforts to recoup the substantial development and production costs associated with the new, bespoke platform - especially important as it battles to recover from heavy losses in recent months and make good on its ambition to achieve an 8% profit margin.