Future Volvo estates in doubt, according to CEO
The company, famous for its boxy estate cars, will be focusing on SUVs in the future – possibly hot ones
Volvo will focus on SUVs and saloons, rather than diversifying its product range to include new estate cars or different bodystyles, CEO Jim Rowan has confirmed.
When asked whether he could see a future without a traditional Volvo estate car, Rowan replied simply by saying: “Yes. Because I think [the market has] changed, right?
“It's expensive to bring different models to the market, and it's expensive to keep those models in the market,” he told us. “So we need to make a choice: rather than bring out a [new] V90 for example, are we better to position that car in a slightly different way? So we have the Black Editions, we have the Cross Country editions – we now have different editions of the same base car.
“It's much, much cheaper, and much more cost effective for us to drive more volume through that same platform and that same form factor,” he said.
The news comes just weeks after Volvo UK’s commercial director Robert Deane suggested it was a mistake to discontinue the firm’s existing V60 and V90 models in 2023, before bringing them back last year. “When you tell a retail customer [estates] aren’t offered, they go off and buy someone else’s,” he told us.
But Rowan justified his stance, saying: “We're making very conscious choices about where we want to play the game. Where we're differentiating is with SUVs; nice high ride height, very safe – and we think we can protect that beachhead against the competition. It’s much easier than us becoming distracted by too many models.”
On the flipside, this laser focus on existing models could pave the way for hot Audi RS and BMW M-challenging super-saloons and SUVs, with chief product and strategy officer Erik Severinson telling us: “There is always a niche. The sporty family car; there is someone who wants to have the versatility of a family car, but also the performance.
“I think there are niches within your core segments where you can do derivatives,” he said. “But you can’t really completely go into another type of… see what I mean?”
Volvo has just revealed the new ES90, and is gearing up to pull the covers off the all-new EX60 – an electric alternative to the facelifted XC60 – next year. Tallying with Rowan’s suggestion that he’ll look to bolster the range with variations of core Volvo models, the company recently launched the EX30 Cross Country – a jacked-up, off-road take on its smallest EV. That car is on sale now, with first customer deliveries due in the coming months.
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