When it comes to station wagons in the current automotive landscape, the pickings are increasingly thin. There’s BMW and Audi, especially in Europe, and there’s Volvo. The Swedish automaker has been offering them seemingly forever, and some of the most popular models in its history are long-roof sedans. Think of the 240, 740 and 850, and more recently, the XC70, V90 and V60.
Nothing lasts forever
Volvo is seriously considering whether it should put an end to the era of station wagons in its lineup. Volvo CEO Jim Rowan confirmed as much during an interview with Autocar following the presentation of the new ES90 electric sedan on March 5th.
In essence, his point was that the company had limited resources, which makes it difficult to renew models that sell less - like station wagons. Volvo offers two models at the moment, the V60 and V90. He mentioned that the ES90, which has a hatchback design, fills a need and represents a compromise between a sedan and an SUV.
“We're a reasonably small company with limited resources. We're making very conscious choices about where we want to play the game and where we're differentiated.”
- Volvo CEO Jim Rowan
Rowan said it would be more profitable for Volvo to increase its sales by launching new versions of existing models, along the lines of the Black Edition version of the XC60 or the new Cross Country variant of the EX30. Simply put, “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.”
We understand the reasoning, which is widespread across the industry. Unfortunately, we live in an era where profitability is more important than passion.
Volvo has already started abandoning its station wagons in many markets. The regular V60 and V90 are no longer available in the U.S., though the Cross Country versions of both models remain. Volvo hasn’t indicated how long the two might stay on the market, but they could be there for many more years and benefit from updates like the XC90 and XC60.
You still have time to get a station wagon at Volvo. However, knowing that the end may be approaching for this type of model, those who want to acquire one will have an interest in following Volvo's news closely.