Volvo Ponders a Minicar, Eventually

Volvo Cars AB tells Automotive News Europe it might develop a small car to compete with the Audi A1 and BMW Mini if it can find a partner to help pay for the project.

CEO Stefan Jacoby also tells the online newspaper he's interested in a smaller model because today's premium-car buyers "no longer define luxury based on the size of the car or number of cylinders."

But Jacoby also says his more pressing priority is to launch the company's "scalable platform architecture" for larger models. Last month Volvo introduced its V40 compact car, which competes with the BMW 1 Series and Audi A3.