Volvo Is Considering Coupe-SUVs To Rival BMW And Mercedes

Volvo is looking into the possibility of building sleeker derivatives of its SUVs, to rival the likes of the BMW X4, Mercedes GLC and even the Range Rover Evoque

Swedish style-merchant Volvo is thinking about building coupe-SUV spin-offs of its popular soft-roaders.

Volvo’s gathering momentum means it could expand its model line-up to include coupe-like versions of its excellent – if a little copy-and-paste – SUVs. Nameplates like XC50 and XC70 could sit on sleeker versions of the XC40 and XC60, for example, in a similar way to BMW’s X1/X2 and X3/X4.

Rather than expanding into entirely new market sectors at great expense, Volvo bosses say it’s more likely that they’ll increase the coverage and options within the areas of the market they currently sell in.

That way the existing platforms and production lines can easily and relatively cheaply be used to produce slightly different body styles on the same chassis, with the same engines and plumbing.

Auto Express quotes Lex Kerssemakers, Volvo’s senior vice president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as saying that “it’s more likely we’ll go further into the depths than expand.” On the subject of coupe-like versions of its SUVs, he added: “Potentially, but not in the short term.”

Volvo reportedly recently trademarked the XC50 model name. It already owns the rights to the XC70 moniker, which was used on a jacked-up version of the V70 estate from the mid-2000s until as recently as 2016.