Next Volvo V40 to depart from pure hatchback form, become a 'pseudo-SUV'

If the next-generation Volvo V40 comes to the U.S., the car that rolls up on our docks won't be a straightforward rework of the present chippy hatch. According to Auto Express, the coming V40 will turn into a "pseudo-SUV." The love for all things high-riding appears to be the primary factor in the switch. Lex Kerssemakers, the brand's SVP for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, said, "There's two things you can't exclude in the thinking process towards the next generation of V40. The high seating position is really an issue, and we see a lot of people moving from V40 into XC40." He added that "even the die-hard low seating people [are] moving to higher seats." The second factor is electrification. The present V40 doesn't ride on Volvo's CMA or SMA platforms, the only odd-model-out in the lineup. A revised version of Ford's Global C platform lives under V40 sheetmetal, said architecture going all the way back to the 2004 Volvo S40.

A reborn V40 on the CMA platform that supports the XC40 will be much more inviting to an electric drivetrain. Adding crossover interior space will be even more so. Said Kerssemakers, "[To] be fully electrified you need capacity to put the batteries in. If you try to achieve that through width and length then you're instantly into the C/D segment, where we already have V60, S60 and XC60. So then you need to use height, so you're going into an SUV."

The exec said design teams right now are trying to find a creative combination that pleases hatchback buyers, "the high ingress-egress people, and the battery package." Autocar believes the various practical necessities will lead to an SUV coupe, and an earlier Auto Express report from December 2017 predicted the next V40 would get the same width but a lower roofline than the XC40, making the V40 look wider and more stylish.

We're still left wondering what this means for a V40 in the U.S. The hatch got scratched from our playing field in 2003, and it took until 2015 for Volvo to announce an eventual return. But that next-gen car was meant to arrive this year, hailed as potential competition for the Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus.

Not only is that not happening, but the current V40 won't endure long enough to hand off the baton. After a refresh in 2016, the hatch goes out of production later this year, the replacement not due for two or three years. Kerssemakers knows this could be a dangerous pause, saying, "We can't wait too long to introduce the new car. We don't want to lose our space in the segment. We are still confident that we can cover certain parts of the market, although not the die-hard hatchback fans."

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