The all-new V40 may be hogging the spotlight these days, but there's another equally important model for Volvo's future, one which the company continues to develop. That's the C30 E, an all-electric version of the three-door hatchback that's currently offered for lease to select buyers across Europe.

To keep interest in the car (and the project) alive, Volvo has published another video of the C30 E undergoing further development in the northern regions of Finland. You can watch it right after the break.

Going it alone on new model development is a costly endeavor even for large automotive groups – and practically out of the question for smaller manufacturers.

Volvo until now has built all of its models around the platforms and powertrains from its former owner Ford. Now it is seeking a new partner to jointly develop its next generation of compact models.

Currently owned by Chinese carmaker Geely, Volvo recorded an impressive 20 percent increase in sales last year. Still, with some 450,000 units, it remains a small player in the global automotive industry, thus the need for cost sharing on new model development.

In what could be our final round of spy photos of the upcoming Volvo V40 (or at least those picturing prototypes with heavy camouflage), our diligent spies snapped the five-door hatchback model as it was completing its winter tests on the snow.

Volvo Cars CEO Stefan Jakoby gave us a sneak peek of the new V40 at an interview with Hakan Matson, chairman of the European Car of the Year Jury, on Friday, where he also revealed that the car will be officially introduced at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show next March.

During the interview, Jakoby said that he is "extremely positive" and "really excited" about the V40, which will be positioned against the five-door variants of the Audi A3 and BMW 1-Series as well as the Lexus CT200 h.

You know that the world is changing when a carmaker like Volvo, once the staple of doctors and soccer moms, which cherished the brand's safe and square (in both meanings of the word) station wagon models, starts engaging in “factory-authorized” tuning for some of its models.

Volvo North America announced that its Sweden-based, long-time tuning partner Polestar, maker of the one-off 405HP AWD C30 and 330HP S60 performance concepts, has developed software upgrades for the 2008MY and later C30, C70 and S40 models equipped with the five-cylinder turbocharged gasoline T5 engine.

Almost every carmaker already has, or is currently developing, at least one electric vehicle in its range. Volvo is part of that group and it has been testing its C30 Electric since autumn of 2010.

In June, the compact all-electric Volvo entered production –albeit at a limited rate, since it will be available for leasing only to a select number of European buyers.

Carscoop commentator Paul tipped us off about a short video he took of a 2014 Volvo V30 prototype that he discovered at a McDonalds parking lot in the Dutch city of Oldenzaal. And yes, it's the same test car we showed you on Wednesday in our scoop pictures.

As a refresher for those of you that missed our previous story, the V30 is the five-door version of the next generation C30. It is expected to launch within the next two years providing the Swedish firm with direct rival to the Audi A3 Sportback and its kind in the premium hatchback category.

Our spies caught up with a five-door prototype version of the next generation C30 in one of the least expected places: a McDonald's parking lot in Amsterdam, Holland. It seems that the Volvo engineers were taking a break, leaving our photographers a small window to take a few shots.

The five-door version of the C30 hatchback will likely carry the V30 nameplate and will go against the likes of the Audi A3 Sportback and the new BMW 1-Series.

Volvo Car Corporation and Siemens, Europe's largest engineering company, will join forces for the development of electric vehicles through an extensive strategic cooperation.

The partnership between the two companies will focus on electric drive technology, power electronics, charging technology and the integration of all those systems in Volvo’s existing C30 Electric project.

Most concepts presented at motor shows remain just that: a stylistic exercise by the automaker’s designers, a “what if” proposal, a flight of fancy. At best, a few of them make it into production, mostly in a much more conventional form. But as with every rule, there are always an exception.

Volvo’s SCC Concept is one such example. Presented at the 2001 Detroit Motor Show, the Swedish carmaker’s Safety Concept Car was more than just a glimpse into the future or the main inspiration behind the C30’s design: it was the car that, above any other, influenced Volvo’s technological advances.

Most concepts presented at motor shows remain just that: a stylistic exercise by the automaker’s designers, a “what if” proposal, a flight of fancy. At best, a few of them make it into production, mostly in a much more conventional form. But as with every rule, there are always an exception.

Volvo’s SCC Concept is one such example. Presented at the 2001 Detroit Motor Show, the Swedish carmaker’s Safety Concept Car was more than just a glimpse into the future or the main inspiration behind the C30’s design: it was the car that, above any other, influenced Volvo’s technological advances.

Electric Vehicles, or EVs, are the future. Or so the automakers say. And they would be correct, if it wasn’t for a significant disadvantage over petrol or diesel powered models: their abysmal range which makes them suitable only for limited city use.

Volvo is taking measures to solve this problem and make its EVs attractive to the public by adding an extra 1,000 km (621 miles) to their range. The solution, which has also been adopted by other models such as the Chevrolet Volt and the Audi A1 E-Tron concept, is the addition of a “range extender” internal combustion engine.

Electric Vehicles, or EVs, are the future. Or so the automakers say. And they would be correct, if it wasn’t for a significant disadvantage over petrol or diesel powered models: their abysmal range which makes them suitable only for limited city use.

Volvo is taking measures to solve this problem and make its EVs attractive to the public by adding an extra 1,000 km (621 miles) to their range. The solution, which has also been adopted by other models such as the Chevrolet Volt and the Audi A1 E-Tron concept, is the addition of a “range extender” internal combustion engine.

One of the major fears consumers have regarding electric vehicles, besides range anxiety, is how these cars are going to function in rough weather conditions. We all know batteries are sensitive to extreme temperatures, which can affect their capacity of storing electricity.

This is why Volvo is trying out its C30 Electric model in the north of Sweden, inside the Arctic Circle. Temperatures as low as -20 degrees Celsius are something normal in this part of the world, so Volvo engineers want to ensure the battery-powered car runs smoothly even in harsh environments.

The Polestar Racing prepared Volvo C30 DRIVe will make its premiere at the FIA World Touring Car Championship [WTCC] in the opening round of the 2011 season at Curitiba in Brazil this weekend. Polestar’s factory-backed C30 has already competed in the Swedish and Scandinavian Touring Car Championships, but being that the WTCC is a different beast altogether, the company said that it will not race to win this year, but to further develop the car for the 2012 season.

There’s less to pay for UK buyers looking to get into a Volvo C30 sport hatch as the Swedish automaker announced a significant £1,300 price cut to the entry-level model which now starts from £14,995 on the road. The C30 ES features a 2.0-liter petrol engine with 145HP and comes equipped with electronic climate control, 16-inch alloys, leather steering wheel and gearlever, a stability system (DSTC), power windows, information centre, and a CD player with auxiliary input.

In the UK, the C30 is available with a variety of petrol and diesel engines ranging from the 145HP 2.0-liter petrol to the 230HP T5 and 115HP D2 to the 177HP D4, as well as a choice of trim levels including the sporty R-Design.