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Volvo XC40 Starts Production, T5 Twin Engine PHEV And EV Coming In 2018 And 2019

The smallest utility vehicle Volvo ever made is now production reality. The XC40 started rolling off the assembly line in Ghent, Belgium today, and the first customer-bound crossovers are en route to Volvo dealers.
2018 Volvo XC40 production 84 photos
Photo: Volvo
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To date, Volvo received more than 13,000 orders for the newcomer of the XC family. Customers, meanwhile, will start receiving their XC40s early in 2018. The Luqiao plant will welcome the China-spec XC40 in 2018, and in 2019, the Geely-Volvo shared facility will begin production of a compact electric vehicle that will share the CMA platform with the XC40.

Speaking of CMA, Volvo highlights the vehicle architecture co-developed with Geely will provide both automakers with many more models for the small premium segment. In preparation for the XC40, the Ghent facility went through an 8,000-sq.m. expansion of the body shop. In addition to this, 363 robots have been installed, including one nicknamed “The Beast” that lifts the XC40’s lower body to a conveyor belt close to the ceiling.

At the present moment, the XC40 is available in two flavors: T5 AWD and D4 AWD, both powered by 2.0-liter turbocharged engines. The T5 Drive-E is the most potent of the lot, packing 247 PS (244 horsepower) and 350 Nm (260 lb-ft) of torque. The T5 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid will arrive in 2019 with front-wheel-drive, and the CMA-based EV mentioned earlier is described by Volvo as “a pure electric version” of the XC40.

In total, Volvo operates two plants in Europe and two in China. A fifth plant is under construction in South Carolina, United States, and the grand opening is scheduled for the second half of 2018. In Ridgeville, Volvo will assemble the next-generation S60 sedan in the 2.3-million sq.ft. facility.

“This is a proud day for Ghent, the company and all our employees here,” said Hakan Samuelsson, chief executive officer of the Swedish premium automaker. “Our people have put in long days and many hours to prepare the plant for the start of XC40 production and they have done a great job.”
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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