The Volvo XC40 small SUV has been named the 2018 European Car of the Year. It is the first win of this prestigious award for Volvo Cars, the Swedish premium car maker.

“Winning this award with our new XC40 is perfect timing,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and CEO of Volvo Cars. “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.”

The XC40 win means that the complete line-up of new global Volvo SUVs have 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.

The XC40 sets a new standard in its segment in terms of design, connectivity and safety technology. Early orders in excess of 20,000 cars across Europe and the US indicate that this is an appealing combination for customers.

The XC40 is the first model on Volvo Cars’ new compact modular vehicle architecture (CMA), which will underpin all upcoming cars in the 40 Series, including fully electrified vehicles. Co-developed together with Geely, CMA provides the company with the necessary economies of scale for this segment.

Safety and driver assistance features on the XC40 include Volvo Cars’ Pilot Assist system, City Safety, Run-off Road protection and mitigation, Cross Traffic alert with brake support and the 360-degree Camera that helps drivers maneuver their car into tight parking spaces.

The XC40 also offers ingenious interior design and storage ideas with more functional storage space in the doors and under the seats, a special space for phones including inductive charging, a foldout hook for small bags, plus a removable waste bin in the tunnel console.

In 2017, the company announced its commitment to electrify all Volvo Cars launched from 2019. In line with this leadership position in electrification, a hybridized as well as a pure electric powertrain option for the XC40 will be added later.

The 2018 Volvo XC40 is poised to make its Philippine debut in April.