GÖTEBORG, SWEDEN – The new Volvo XC60, which premiers at the Geneva Auto Show, features City Safety, which can help the driver avoid or reduce the effects of the type of low-speed impacts that are common in city traffic and traffic tailbacks. If the car is about to drive into the vehicle in front and the driver does not react, the car brakes itself.

Also, the XC60 will initially be available with the six-cylinder turbocharged T6 engine, producing 285 horsepower, and two five-cylinder turbodiesels: the D5 producing 185 and the 2.4D with 163 horsepower. All-wheel drive (AWD) with instant traction is fitted as standard on all variants.

The sales target for the new XC60 is more than 50,000 cars per year. Distribution between Europe and North America is unusually uniform: about 40 percent each. The remaining 20 percent is destined for the rest of the world. The five largest markets during peak year 2010 will be the USA, Germany, Great Britain, Russia, and China. 

The Volvo XC60 will be built at the Volvo Cars factory in Ghent, Belgium. Sales will start in Europe during the second half of 2008, while sales in North America will get under way in early 2009.