The Swedish carmaker, Volvo will launch the smallest and most affordable XC model in India on July 4, 2018. Volvo will bring the car in India as a completely built unit (CBU), albeit prices are likely to be competitive, which will be revealed on the launch day. While there is still some time for the XC40 India launch, pre-bookings have already started across authorized Volvo dealerships in the country for a sum of Rs 5 lakh. The carmaker has high expectations from the SUV and it expects to sell 200 units of the model even before the launch scheduled in July.
Touted to be the smallest and most affordable XC model, the new XC40 will be slotted below the new-gen XC60 in Volvo India’s line-up. Besides, the new XC40 will share a host of styling cues and features with its larger sibling, though the XC40 will underpin a different platform than XC60. That said, the XC40 will ditch Volvo’s Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) platform which underpins XC60 and XC90 models. It will instead use company’s Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) platform, which Volvo shares with its Chinese parent company Geely.
On the feature front, the XC40 is expected to share an array of features such as a panoramic sunroof, 9-inch infotainment system and the Harman Kardon music system with its larger siblings. In addition, it will additionally pack Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The five-seater SUV is also expected to get safety tech like hill start assist and descent control.
Mechanically, the Volvo XC40 will equip a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder engine that emanates maximum power of 187bhp against 400Nm torque. Transmission duties will be carried out by an 8-speed automatic unit with power channelized to all four wheels. Additionally, there will be a standard Haldex AWD system. Upon its launch in India, the SUV will field against Audi Q3, Mercedes-Benz GLA and BMW X1.