UPDATE: May 16, 2016 -- New images added
You know an automaker is reaching for new demographic appeal when it teases its latest design on Snapchat, a social media/messaging platform favoured by the under-20 crowd.
It's telling, to us, that there's nothing at all about the Concept 40 on Volvo's official media site; instead, the tease was limited to the two images you see below as Volvo snapchatted them. (It makes us feel old wondering if we can use that as a verb.) Snapchat is notable for the impermanent nature of the images users share through it: once you've viewed a photo or video, it disappears.
Less than a week after the original images surfaced, Volvo got back on Snapchat to issue a few more. One shows a hybrid chassis/powertrain, another gives a glimpse of the compact crossover's tail and a third focuses on some new details.
The concept's name suggests a model conceived to slot in below Volvo's 60 range of sedans, wagons and crossovers; the last time the company's lineup included a compact model was 2013, the final year for the C30 that shared a platform with the S40 sedan and V40 wagon that went away after 2011.
It's likely the Concept 40 will spawn not just a small car, but also a compact crossover to get Volvo in on a lucrative segment dominated by, well, most of the Swedish manufacturers competitors. Think along the lines of Mercedes-Benz' CLA-Class sedan and GLA crossover and you'll see what Volvo's probably up to.
Volvo is gearing up to reveal the concept in full next week, at its headquarters in Gothenburg, and we'll have those images to share as soon as we get our hands on them.
