New details have been revealed about the upcoming Volvo V40 and XC40 models which are said to be created out of the company’s brand new C-segment Modular Architecture.

New vehicle platform planned for new Volvo V40 and XC40

According to Car Advice, Volvo senior president Lex Kerssemakers confirmed details about the new platform at the Paris Motor Show. He mentioned the platform is being jointly developed with Chinese brand Geely as a highly flexible small car architecture that the company will use on the new V40 and first small SUV which will rival the likes of the Range Rover Evoque, BMW X1 and Audi Q3.

Not much is known about the platform itself but it is expected to underpin a wide range of products. “The platform is developed in such a way that it can carry [physically] high cars and low cars, so we are very flexible. Of course we are looking for ‘top hat’ expansions to increase the leverage on the platform,” said Kerssemakers.

Top of the list according to the senior vice president, is to replace the V40 sometime 2016, followed by the XC40 in 2018. Both models will be available as plug-in hybrids.