The first customer-bound Volvo XC40 compact SUV has rolled off the production line at the automaker’s plant in Ghent, Belgium.
Volvo says that it has received over 13 000 orders globally its first-ever compact premium SUV. The new XC40 is the first model that rides on Volvo Cars’ new modular small car platform, Compact Modular Architecture (CMA), which will underpin all upcoming cars in the 40 cluster.
To prepare the plant in Ghent, to enable it to produce the XC40, 363 new robots have been installed, including one which has been nicknamed “The Beast” by Ghent employees. This large robot, “unique within Volvo Cars’ global manufacturing system, is used to lift lower car bodies to a conveyor belt close to the ceiling of the plant.”
“This is a proud day for Ghent, the company and all our employees here,” says SVolvo Cars chief executive and president Håkan. “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. The XC40 represents a bright future for Ghent and for Volvo Cars.”
The new XC40 is due for launch in South Africa in April 2018.