The 2018 European Car of the Year has been announced, and it's not a car at all. Sort-of anyway; it's the new Volvo XC40 compact SUV which debuted last September to no small amount of fanfare. That's because it's a legitimately good contender among this hotly contested automotive segment. However, it also introduced the world to Care by Volvo – a subscription service that lumps all costs relating to vehicle ownership including insurance and maintenance into a single monthly payment.
"Winning this award with our new XC40 is perfect timing," said Håkan Samuelsson, president and CEO of Volvo Cars. "Volvo now has three globally available SUVs in its range for the first time. The XC40 will be a strong contributor to further growth, taking us into a new and fast-growing small SUV segment."
The award reflects the XC40's accolades as a darn good freshman effort for Volvo in this segment. It's a point on which we agree – our first drive with the XC40 confirmed that this isn't just a badged up compact runabout. Small SUVs often come across as smaller, cheaper copies to larger siblings and the result is often a product that feels inherently disappointing. The XC40 is the first vehicle built on the company's new Compact Modular Architecture, which will also underpin future Volvo cars. As such it draws inspiration from the bigger Volvo SUVs while still carving its own place in both the automaker's lineup, and in the compact SUV segment.
The public certainly seems to be responding to the XC40's charm. Volvo says that 20,000 early orders from the U.S. and Europe have been placed, and the crossover will soon be available in China – currently the largest automotive market and a place where small SUVs are extremely popular.
"We have a clear strategy for growth and we are committed to leading in automotive safety, connectivity services and electrification," said Samuelsson. "The XC40 reflects that commitment, and looking at the response from our customers and from the COTY jury here today, we are on the right track."
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