The carmaker’s appearance at the show marks its first attendance there in seven years, which it says shows the growing importance of the Japanese market for Volvo Cars, which is seeing strong results in the country. The brand’s sales in Japan are up over 25% compared to 2012 and at a level not seen since the late 1990s.

At the show, the Volvo Concept Coupé will be the centre of attention, showcasing the company's new Scalable Product Architecture, as well as the new, highly efficient four-cylinder Drive-E powertrains (formerly known as VEA) that are already now available in six Volvo models.

Volvo Cars' strategy is to use electrification to create the most powerful versions in the Drive-E engine family, taking power figures up into V8 territory. The Volvo Concept Coupé is equipped with Volvo Cars' plug-in hybrid technology, which marries up a high-performance petrol engine with an electric motor on the rear axle, giving the Volvo Concept Coupé a total output of about 400hp and over 600Nm of torque.

The Volvo Concept Coupé is the first in a series of three concept cars that demonstrate the new design direction of Volvo Cars and paves the way for the introduction of the all-new XC90 in 2014.

‘The Volvo Concept Coupé shows what you can expect from our new architecture: the confident stance, the proportions and the most prominent design signatures. Even though the all-new XC90 is a different type of car, you will recognise the connection instantly,’ said Thomas Ingenlath, senior vice president design at Volvo Cars.