Confirmed! A new sub-XC40 small Volvo electric SUV is coming in 2023

Volvo will expand its line-up very soon, with the Swedish brand’s global CEO confirming that a new small SUV will be uncovered in mid-2023.

A smaller SUV model was teased in November last year when Volvo was also teasing its EX90 large SUV - that it has since revealed.

Back then there was little information about that model, but now we can tell you it will be a small SUV that will be positioned under the XC40 in Volvo’s line-up, making it the carmaker’s entry-level electric offering.

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Speaking to Australian journalists during a visit Down Under, Volvo Cars CEO and president Jim Rowan said the new model is not far away at all.

“We kind of teased that with you guys back in November as well, so we'll release a small SUV and I think June 15, or … sometime in the middle of June, that will really start. Both of those cars (small SUV and EX90) will be in production by the end of this year.”

A spokesperson for Volvo Cars Australia confirmed with CarsGuide that the as-yet unnamed model will be offered in Australia before the end of 2023.

Mr Rowan declined to discuss naming for any new models, including the small SUV, but given the new electric large SUV, that’s expected to eventually replace the XC90, has adopted the EX90 moniker, it could be dubbed the EX20 or 40.

All we have seen of the new small SUV is this teaser from November 2022.

Mr Rowan said that the new model will also drive younger buyers to the Volvo brand, which is something he is keen to encourage.

“The age demographic that we have available was a little bit older than we would like. We'd like to get some more younger people into the brand, let's say, and that will be a really nice price point I think for an entry.

“Very safe, decent range, good size still, but small enough for it. We're going to talk to a completely different demographic for the first time and that younger demographic will probably be the ones who shop more online.”

The new SUV will be smaller than the XC40 Pure Electric.

The new model could be built on Volvo’s Chinese parent company Geely’s Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) that debuted at the Beijing motor show in September 2020. However, it could also be spun off Volvo’s Compact Modular Architecture that underpins the C40 and XC40, and the Polestar 2.

While the XC40 is considered a small SUV, it’s quite a sizeable model for the segment it plays in. At 4425mm long and 1863mm wide, the XC40 is one of the bigger premium small SUVs.

That leaves plenty of space under it for a new compact offering. It could be more inline with the size of something like a Lexus UX electric.