As Volvo Cars unveiled the new C30 hatchback at the Paris motor show on Thursday, US unit Volvo Cars of North America (VCNA) confirmed it would import the car “no earlier than the 2008 model year”.

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The announcement came nine months after the C30 ‘Design Concept’ was unveiled at the Detroit show early this year.


The C30’s primary markets will, however, be in Europe, with the largest markets being Italy, the UK, Germany and Spain. Volvo is predicting global sales of 65,000 units  a year but is not yet announcing pricing or anticipated US volume.


The C30 is a new segment entry for Volvo (though one could argue it has been there before with the Dutch-built ES480 coupe-hatchback launched in the 1980s and perhaps the classic UK- and Swedish-built P1800 coupe of ‘The Saint’ fame in the 1960s), and is expected to attract younger buyers into dealerships.


“The Volvo C30 is a very exciting car with emotional appeal. We anticipate that [its] youthfulness and dynamic design will catch the hearts and minds of people beyond Volvo’s traditional customers,” said VCNA president and CEO Anne Belec.

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US-specification cars will have a 218 horsepower, turbocharged, inline, five-cylinder engine that produces 236 pound-feet of torque.


Other markets have a much wider choice: 1.6-, 1.8- and 2.0-litre I4 petrol, 2.4-litre I5 and 2.5 I5 petrol turbos, a 1.8-litre I4 petrol-ethanol flex-fuel motor for Sweden only, plus 1.6- and 2.0-litre I4 and two I5 turbodiesels of up to 2.4-litre capacity.


Five- and six-speed manual gearboxes are standard; a five-speed ‘Geartronic’ automatic is available with the I5 petrol and diesel engines.


At 4,252mm long (167 inches), the C30 is 8.5 inches (220m) shorter than the Volvo S40 sport sedan on the same 103.9-inch (2,640mm) wheelbase.