Volvo and Polestar both cooking up small SUVs

Volvo has reportedly begun work on a new entry-level pure-electric SUV that will be positioned as a direct rival to the Mercedes-Benz EQA when it arrives in 2023.

According to Autocar, a cheaper baby SUV is needed for the Volvo brand to achieve its ambitious aim of reaching a 50 per cent model mix of electric vehicles by 2025.

Set to be called the Volvo XC20 or C20 Recharge, the new city SUV will follow the Volvo XC90 replacement due next year and will be based on parent Geely's new SEA electric car platform.

The same platform is used by the Geely-owned Zeekr brand on its 001 model. In China, the small wagon comes with either an 86kWh or 100kWh battery, which could provide the new Volvo SUV with a long 700km range between top-ups.

Thanks to the off-the-shelf Geely hardware, the Swedish brand should take advantage of battery tech that allows for charging speeds of up to 360kW, enabling an impressive 120km range in little more than five minutes.

A dual-motor powertrain, meanwhile, could dish up serious levels of performance with up to 400kW offered by Zeekr.

Despite the potential for Polestar to piggy-back on the development of the new Volvo, Autocar says the standalone EV brand will take a different approach with its own new small SUV offering due in 2023.

Instead of an all-new SEA-based SUV, Polestar will rebody the Volvo C40 Recharge SUV-coupe. That means it will be based on the older-generation CMA platform and come with 64kWh or 78kWh batteries and single- or dual-motor powertrains that will offer up to 300kW.

Positioned between the Polestar 2 and upcoming Polestar 3, the new small SUV is being developed to be its most affordable offering.

Said to mimic the upcoming Precept-inspired Polestar 3, the new SUV will feature a rakish design but sit lower to the ground with less packaging compromises.