If you want to get your hands on a Volvo C30 hatchback, we’d advise you not to wait much longer. In order to “better position Volvo for the future,” the automaker will discontinue C30 production in December, ending the compact hatch with the 2013 model year.

Volvo’s official statement on the car’s demise reads, in part, “Launched as a model year 2008, the Volvo C30 is a dynamic, fun-to-drive car that helped us connect with enthusiasts and also fulfilled its purpose in supporting Volvo as a luxury brand with performance credentials.”

“Looking ahead, however, we have made the decision to discontinue C30 production to better position Volvo for the future and the next stages of our model portfolio.” In other words, Volvo wasn’t selling enough of the compact hatchback to justify the expense of production, distribution and service.

As Autoblog reports, Volvo has only averaged sales of some 4,500 C30 models annually, not nearly enough to retain the model in Volvo’s lineup. It’s not clear what will take the C30’s place, since Volvo has been adamant in saying that the new V40 hatchback (or its crossover variantisn’t coming to the United States.

That means Volvo’s entry-level offering, for now anyway, will be the midsize S60 sedan, leaving the automaker without a product in a growing segment of the market. While new models for the U.S. market are coming from Volvo, we’re not aware of any that slot in below the S60.

Volvo points out that it hasn’t yet sold out of 2013 C30 Polestar Limited Edition models, of which only 250 will be built. With a dash of marketing hype, the automaker likens it to the 1800ES, saying it should be a hit among collectors and enthusiasts alike.

Our own experience would seem to back up Volvo’s claims; in many cases, nothing creates demand for a product quite like killing it off.

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