Volvo announces USA pricing for S60

Volvo has just announced pricing for its S60 sedan in the USA, perhaps giving some indication of where it will be placed when it arrives in Australia later this year.

Although the price announcement refers to only one model -- the premium, all-wheel drive S60 T6 Sport -- Volvo claims the new sedan kicks serious derriere by undercutting German equivalents from BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

The US price of US$41,400 ($46,000 Australian) slides the new S60 Sport beneath BMW's all-wheel drive 335i xDrive (not available here) and the Benz C350 sedan, yet offers significant technical advances including its new Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake, as well as City Safety -- a radar-based system designed to prevent or minimise end-to-end impacts.

The S60 Sport's USA price sits it slightly above the C70 coupe-convertible, indicating a $70,000-plus price tag in Australia.

Pricing for bread and butter S60 versions is open to speculation, but it would be reasonable to expect the new car to slip, in basic form, just below the luxury tax threshold and just below equivalent BMW and Benz models.

With the base Mercedes C-Class tagged at around $58,000 before on-road costs, and the BMW 3 Series opening at around $55,000, it would be reasonable to expect the entry S60 to be at least competitive, if not undercut the Germans. Perhaps some guide could also be taken from the base Audi A4 at just under $50,000, or the Lexus IS250 which opens at around $54,000.

Whatever pricing decision Volvo Australia makes, it is pretty certain that the S60 will run up against the sibling XC60 SUV, which opens at around $57,000 in base form. It is unlikely though, due to quite different demographic profiles, that the two Volvos will compete with each other for sales.

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