Volvo has released details about its new Compact Modular Architecture (CMA), which will extend its range of compact cars into new segments.

Described by the automaker as “a smaller but equally advanced version of Volvo’s acclaimed Scalable Product Architecture (SPA),” CMA will arrive on the streets in 2017, when Volvo will launch the first model underpinned by it – likely the next-generation V40 or the XC40 compact SUV.

With the introduction of the Compact Modular Architecture in 2017, all future Volvos will be built on just two fully scalable and wholly modular vehicle architectures: CMA and SPA.

Volvo says the Compact Modular Architecture will allow the company to offer customers of compact cars the same type of premium engineering benefits as owners of its larger cars built on SPA. Both platforms will shared technology including powertrains (both conventional and new plug-in hybrid variants) as well as infotainment, climate, data network and safety systems.

CMA and SPA will help Volvo deliver on its promise to replace every single car in its lineup in the next four years and reach an annual sales volume of up to 800,000 cars. The process started with the launch of the XC90 SUV and will continue shortly with the arrival of the new S90 premium sedan.

Volvo says the Compact Modular Architecture will also change the way it builds products by allowing a wide range of cars, powertrains, electrical systems and various technologies to be fitted on the same architecture, thereby generating significant economies of scale and a more streamlined manufacturing process.

CMA has been designed from the outset to accommodate electrification, offering a new Twin Engine plug-in hybrid variant designed specifically for the new architecture.

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