New flagship, small coupe-style crossover coming, Volvo dealers say

Volvo is targeting both ends of the market with a pair of planned new models — a plus-size luxury crossover and a diminutive coupe-style crossover, the brand's U.S. dealers told Automotive News.

The new crossovers add to the product assault undertaken by CEO Hakan Samuelsson at Volvo, which has seen U.S. sales increase 77 percent since he took over Volvo Cars Corp. in late 2012. And they are part of a wave of electrified vehicles Volvo plans to roll out over the next few years. Globally, every new Volvo model going forward will have an electric motor as part of a plan to make all-electric cars account for half of global sales by 2025, with the rest being hybrids.

Volvo did not confirm the information provided to Automotive News, declining to discuss future product. But according to dealers familiar with the product plans, the automaker will launch a new flagship crossover — the XC100 — aimed at satisfying America's appetite for roomier luxury rides.

Volvo retailers were briefed on the future products in Las Vegas last month.

The crossover is expected to arrive in the second half of 2023 and will be built at Volvo's Charleston, S.C., plant. A battery version is expected a year later.

The XC100, described by one dealer as an "absolute home run," is Volvo's answer to the Mercedes-Benz GLS and BMW X7 flagship light trucks.

"It's an XC90, Range Rover, Cullinan all in one," said another dealer, who asked not to be identified.

"The XC100 gives families a move-up model in the Volvo line."

The new crossover is described as being 7 inches longer and nearly 5 inches wider than the XC90. It will be built on Volvo's updated SPA platform and is expected to come in two configurations — a seven-seater and a six-seater with captain's chairs that allow for easier access to the rear.

"If you look in the luxury SUV space, having a true six-, seven-passenger full-size SUV is becoming a must," said another dealer who asked not to be identified. "If you want to compete with Mercedes and BMW, you have to be in that space."

With the XC100, Volvo is zeroing in on a market sweet spot of demand and profit. The luxury large crossover segment in the U.S. grew 57 percent last year and accounted for 1.4 percent of the overall crossover and SUV market, according to the Automotive News Data Center.

During a separate presentation at the NADA Show in February, Volvo Car USA CEO Anders Gustafsson referred to crossovers as "profit locomotives."

Crossovers accounted for nearly 80 percent of Volvo sales last year. Volvo sees the success that domestic and European automakers are having with premium utility vehicles and wants a piece of the action, said Jeff Schuster, president of global forecasting at LMC Automotive.

"Margins tend to be better; price points are more robust," he said.

The XC100 will be built on the same platform as and share parts with the XC90, lowering development costs.

"It's a margin play and gives consumers another option," Schuster said.

XC100 margins could be 10 to 15 percent higher than those of the XC90, said Sam Fiorani, vice president at AutoForecast Solutions.

Crossovers are spawning a growing fleet that reaches into every niche. Where standard crossovers have replaced sedans and wagons, new, sportier versions are replacing coupes and convertibles.

The smaller planned model, the C40, is a sporty-looking version of Volvo's fastest-growing model in the U.S., the XC40 compact crossover. XC40 sales last year jumped 42 percent to 17,654 vehicles.

The battery-powered C40 was described by dealers as a conquest vehicle aimed at millennials.

"It's going to be a price-point leader," one dealer said. "It's going to be a lease leader. It's going to be an affordability vehicle."

The C40 will fit the space previously occupied by specialty and sporty coupes such as the Volvo C70 or the Bertone Coupe, Fiorani said.

"Filling these niches brings the brand to the attention of younger buyers who will, hopefully, move up to something larger when they settle down and have kids," he said.

The C40 is expected to arrive in the second half of 2021 as part of a fleet of Volvo EVs now in the pipeline, according to the dealers who attended the presentation. The battery-powered XC40 Recharge P8 will arrive in U.S. stores this year. And an electric XC60 crossover could arrive in 2021, followed by an XC90 EV.

According to dealer descriptions, the C40 will have a sloping roofline and an updated taillamp design and will feature an EV-inspired grille design. That grille will debut on the XC40 Recharge P8.

The new design swaps the traditional slotted grille for a partially closed-off, more aerodynamic one since there is no internal-combustion engine to cool.

Dealers described the C40 as a "niche" model that the manufacturer expects to sell about 8,000 of a year.

"It helps tell our story on electrification," one of the dealers said. "I think it will attract some new people."