A Volvo C60 Could Be in the Works

The current Volvo C40.Photo: Volvo

In the U.S., Volvo currently offers two sedans, the S60 and S90, and four SUVs, the XC90, XC60, XC40, and C40. All except the C40 are available in a couple of different configurations, from gas to hybrid to all electric. The C40 is only offered as a full EV, to be joined in 2024 by the EX90, an all-electric three-row SUV. Add to that list, possibly: a C60, which might be a new electric SUV, if trademark documents are any indication.

Volvo applied for a U.S. trademark on the C60 model name on December 14; you can read the application here. It names a broad swath of things C40 could be used for, including, of course, “automobiles,” which would make sense given that Volvo has said it wants to go all-electric by 2030 and introduce a lot of new EVs before then. A new C60 would presumably replace or complement the XC60 in Volvo’s lineup, but, as Autoblog reports, Volvo has had its hands on and off of “C60″ for a couple of decades.

Going deeper into the USPTO files, seems Volvo first applied to trademark C60 on September 5, 2001, the same day the automaker also applied to lock down C40. Volvo traded paperwork with the government agency until 2009, when the carmaker abandoned both C40 and C60 in March of that year. Oddly, two months before, in January 2009, Volvo had reapplied to trademark C40 and C60, then abandoned both again seven years later, in July 2016. Again, oddly, nine months before the second abandonment, Volvo had reapplied yet again to trademark both C40 and C60. That was in November 2015. The USPTO granted Volvo the rights to the mark at the end of 2016, and it remains valid. So Volvo’s latest submission is the continuance of the mark it’s owned for six years and been toying with for 21.

So this could be a new car or it could be Volvo continuing to squat on a name like it has for years now, though now that the C40 is out in the world, it makes a future C60 that much more believable. Which is all well and good, but wake me up when they make the V40 again.

I emailed Volvo for comment and will update this if they respond.