With the dissolution of the Premier Automotive Group, Volvo’s future in the Ford Group looks mighty good as the American carmaker seems determined to focus on the Swedish company. According to a report from “Just Auto”, Ford and Volvo execs are planning to fully overhaul the Volvo's range by 2010. The biggest problem with Volvo’s current line-up has to do with its lower and upper medium range, and in particular with the S40/V50 and S60 models. The Ford Focus based S40/V50 are C-Segment models that want to compete against premium D-Segment models like the BMW 3-Series and Audi A4 while the S60 wrongfully believes it can fit between cars like the Mercedes C-Class and E-Class. -Continued after the jump
And to make the problem more complicated, Volvo plans on introducing a 5-door version of the C30, which is based on the S40 / V50… In order to clean up this mess, Volvo will create a new premium mid-size sedan likely to carry the S60 badge, that will replace both the current S40 and S60 models aiming directly towards BMW's 3-series. The new S60 will not have a station wagon version as this task can be handled by the V70 and XC70 wagons.
Additionally, the Swedish carmaker will enhance the C30’s line up not only with the 5-door version (V30), but also with an SUV model dubbed XC30. Bioth of these models are expected by the end of the decade.
Finally, Volvo will introduce the production version of the XC60 concept at next year’s Geneva Show in March. The XC60 will compete against the BMW X3, the Land Rover Freelander and the upcoming Audi Q5 and Mercedes-Benz GLK SUVs.
Via: Just-Auto (sub. Req.)
