2019 S60 and V60 Volvo's newest chips in the transformation game

They're not the crossovers buyers in almost all major world market currently crave, but Volvo's 2019 S60 midsize sedan-and to a lesser extent, its V60 station wagon counterpart-are significant indicators of this niche brand's intent to stay viable in an auto market in upheaval over transformative technology.

And transformative economics: the S60 is the first model to come from Volvo's new $1.1-billion assembly plant in Ridgeville, South Carolina. At least for now, the V60 wagon will be built in Europe; in 2021, the Ridgeville plant will phase in the next-generation XC90 crossover, said Anders Gustaffson, senior vice-president Americas and president and CEO of Volvo Cars USA.