Volvo XC40 Wins The 2018 European Car Of The Year Award

Volvo XC40 has been crowned with the 2018 European Car of the Year Award. This news was announced a day before the commencement of the 2018 Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland.

Commenting on the win, Hakan Samuelsson, President and CEO of Volvo Cars, said, “Winning this award with our new XC40 is perfect timing. 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.”

He further added, “We have a clear strategy for growth and we are committed to leading in automotive safety, connectivity services and electrification. 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.”

The XC40 has also received the Car of the Year award by leading UK automotive publication What Car? It is the first model to be based on the company’s new compact modular vehicle architecture (CMA). Volvo will use the same platform for its all upcoming cars in the 40 Series, including fully electrified vehicles.

The new Volvo XC40 is a car of many ‘firsts’. Like we just mentioned, it is the first Volvo car to be based on the new compact modular vehicle architecture (CMA). It is also the first car to come with a car-sharing feature, enabled via Volvo’s digital key technology and its connected services platform Volvo On Call. By using this feature, owners of the XC40 can simply share their car with family and friends without having to hand over a physical key. In another first, the XC40 launched Volvo Cars’ new subscription service, Care by Volvo, which offers car access via a monthly flat-fee subscription rather than ownership. Care by Volvo makes having a car as transparent, easy and hassle-free as having a phone.

Other highlighting features of the Volvo XC40 include Volvo Cars’ Pilot Assist system, City Safety, Run-off Road protection and mitigation, Cross Traffic alert with brake support and the
360° Camera.

The XC40 winning the 2018 European Car of the Year Award means that the complete line-up of new global Volvo SUVs has each been named Car of the Year in either Europe or North America. Both the large XC90 and mid-size XC60 were awarded the North American Truck/Utility of the Year title in the past two years.

Volvo has promised to bring a hybridised as well as a pure electric powertrain option for the XC40. We’re waiting for these to hit the markets.