Speaking at the press conference, Doug Speck, senior vice president marketing, sales and customer service at Volvo Car Group, said: ‘By cutting the CO2 emission figure by a further six grams per kilometre, we once again demonstrate our leading position within fuel efficiency improvements.’

The vehicle already is already VED exempt and qualifies for the 100% first-year capital allowances and 13% BiK rating for 2013/14.

The model features a 1.6-litre diesel engine with 113bhp and 210lb.ft of torque and comes with a six-speed manual gearbox and start/stop function.

The lower-emission model will be available from the summer when the 2014 model year range comes out. Pricing changes have not been confirmed but the current manual D2 model starts at £19,995.