Geneva show: Volvo gives a video peek at V60

VOLVO has teased its all-new V60 mid-sized wagon in a video ahead of a Facebook reveal from its Swedish headquarters next Wednesday – February 21 – and public unveiling at the Geneva motor show on March 6.

But it remains to be seen if the new V60 will make it to Australia to replace the ageing current model that has been going around since 2011.

Volvo Car Australia (VCA) acting managing director Stephen Connor told GoAuto in January that his company had yet to decide if it would take the next-generation V60 and its S60 sedan sibling, saying the future focus would be on models wanted by customers, rather than trying to fit new models to the market.

VCA director of corporate and PR Greg Bosnich confirmed today that no decision had yet been taken.

He said Australia was a long-lead market, and a decision would most likely be taken closer to the global production launch of the vehicle around mid year.

Mr Bosnich confirmed that the S60 sedan would come later in the year in Europe, and if a decision was taken to bring it to Australia, it would most likely land here in early 2019.

Last year, Volvo dealers sold just 100 V60s in Australia, along with 72 high-riding V60 Cross Countrys. The S60 achieved just 278 sales, compared with market leader Mercedes-Benz C-Class’s 8549 sales.

Like many companies, the shift to SUVs at Volvo has been dramatic, with the XC60 and XC90 accounting for two-thirds of Volvo volume in Australia and growing. With the XC40 compact SUV set to touch-down locally in the second quarter of this year, the SUV domination of the Volvo range will be even greater.

So far, there has been no sign of the S60 in Europe, with the V60 leading the development charge this time around.

The short 1 min 22 sec video posted by Volvo – titled Designed for Generations – starts with a historical look at Volvo wagons, including the 1972 P1800ES – the three-door station wagon version of Volvo’s classic P1800 sports coupe.

Nearing the end of the video, the viewer is given brief glimpses of the latest V60, showing small portions of the exterior and interior. One interior shot reveals a panoramic sunroof, electric-operated tailgate, perforated leather seats and roof-mounted speakers.

Exterior shots show a fairly regulation Volvo design, with signature ‘Thor’s hammer’ LED daytime running lights and iron-mark grille.

Deep creases down each side of the bonnet might well be a nod to the P1800 design.

The new V60 will be based on Volvo’s Scalable Product Architecture that is already doing duty under a number of new models including the XC90, XC60 and S90/V90.

We would expect a similar powertrain line-up to existing models such as the new XC60 which has a choice of 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol and diesel engines, plus a top-of-the-range plug-in hybrid combining a supercharged and turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine with an electric motor for a total 300kW of power.

For Australian Volvo fans, the Wednesday Facebook reveal of the V60 translates to 2.30am Thursday (Australian eastern summer time).