In a unique marketing effort, Volvo Cars of Canada Ltd. has decided to show consumers a version of the compact S/V40 model that will never go on sale here.
Canada will get the S40 sedan and V40 wagon this summer after the smallest Volvo undergoes some changes, but for now the country's network of Volvo dealers will show examples of US-spec models we will never get.
According to Ken Brusca, the president of Volvo Cars of Canada Ltd., this novel marketing move is being done "in response to ever-growing demand from consumers. Since the S40 and V40 went on sale in the U.S. last year, Volvo Canada and its retailers have had a constant stream of inquiries from Canadian consumers who are really excited about the cars."
Brusca says consumers have heard about the S/V40, they have seen U.S. advertising and they are "anxious to see the cars for themselves. We think that is a reasonable request and have done our utmost to accommodate it."
The cars on display in Canadian Volvo stores will be 2000 models from the U.S., but Brusca points out that the 2001 models will have more standard features and a number of other differences from the current U.S. model.
"Retailers cannot sell the U.S. display models," he explains, "but they can take orders on the 2001 cars."
First introduced in Europe and long portrayed by previous Volvo executives as being too small for North America, the S40 sedan and V40 wagon were launched in the U.S. market last year, to considerable success.