The next-generation Volvo V40 will be one of the compact models that will be co-developed with the Swedish manufacturer’s Chinese parent company, Geely. Reportedly, the duo’s forthcoming Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) will underpin new sedan, hatchback and crossover models, and potentially others, from Volvo, as well as a range of compact cars from Geely and its umbrella brands in China.
Dubbed China Euro Vehicle Technology (CEVT), the joint venture is based at a new engineering centre in Gothenburg, Sweden, in a separate facility from Volvo’s regular operations. Volvo reportedly pursued partnerships with other manufacturers before agreeing to collaborate with its Chinese owner.
The CMA platform’s modular design will allow Volvo to maintain its premium positioning while Geely can equip its budget-focused cars with less sophisticated engines, transmissions and other hardware, and help both introduce new models in quick succession.
Volvo research and development senior vice president Peter Mertens said, during an interview earlier this month, its new modular platforms would play a key role in making the brand the fastest in the industry to engineer and update its vehicles.
CMA cars will sit beneath their larger Scalable Platform Architecture (SPA) siblings in Volvo’s future vehicle line-up. The first SPA-based model, the Volvo XC90, will debut at October’s Paris motor show, and will be followed in the coming years by replacements for the brand’s existing and ageing medium and large sedans, wagons and SUVs. The first CMA-based models are expected to launch in 2017, built in factories in both Sweden and China.
