Production of Volvo’s new XC60 mid-size SUV has started at the company’s Torslanda plant in Sweden.

The first customer-bound car, a T5 AWD Inscription in Crystal White, rolled off the production line just before lunch time. The new model replaces the original XC60, which in the nine years since its launch has, according to Volvo, became the best-selling premium mid-sized SUV in Europe with nearly a million units sold globally.

The XC60 today represents around 30 per cent of Volvo’s total global sales. “This is a proud day for everyone at the plant,” said Magnus Nilsson, vice president of the Torslanda plant. “We have worked hard in recent weeks and months to prepare Torslanda for this latest new Volvo model, and now we are ready to start delivering new XC60s to customers.”

The XC60 is the fourth model based on Volvo’s in-house-developed SPA vehicle architecture, following the introduction of the top-of-the-line 90 series in recent years.

The new car is described as one of the safest ever made, and features plenty of new technology. Steer Assist has been added to the ground-breaking City Safety system. A new safety system called Oncoming Lane Mitigation uses Steer Assist to help mitigate head-on collisions, while Volvo’s Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) now uses Steer Assist functionality to reduce the risk of lane-changing collisions.

Pilot Assist, Volvo’s semi-autonomous driver-assistance system, which takes care of the steering, acceleration and braking on well-marked roads up to 80mph, is available in the new XC60 as an option.

The new XC60 offers Volvo’s T8 Twin Engine petrol plug-in hybrid at the top of the powertrain range, delivering 407 hp and acceleration from 0-62mph in 5.3 seconds. A new ‘CleanZone’ four-zone climate control system removes harmful pollutants and particles from outside the cabin to deliver ‘Scandinavian-fresh’ air on the inside, says Volvo.

First customer deliveries of the new XC60 are expected in late summer 2017.