Doug Speck, Volvo’s director of operations in the U.S., has gone on record that the Swedish manufacturer will axe over half of its models because of a continuous drop in sales.
Interviewed by Automotive News, Speck admitted that five or six of the nine models would be taken off the market. In order to increase profitability, only the models presenting the highest sales volume potential will survive the purge. He said the new S60 sedans and the XC60 and XC90 SUVs would be among them.
That means the C30, S40, V70, S80 and XC70 could soon disappear from the American automotive landscape. Speck also confirmed that the V50 would be pulled, seeing as consumers are consistently choosing utility vehicles over wagons, but he didn’t mention any specific dates, as Volvo wants to notify dealers first.
Such a decision will likely have an impact on the Canadian market, since Americans have a greater sales volume.
Sales have dramatically fallen since 2004, the year Volvo sold 139,384 units in the U.S., and in 2010 only 53,948 consumers brought a new Volvo home. Last year, the combined sales of the XC90, XC60 an S60 amounted to 23,584 units, while the six other models accounted for the remaining 30,362 vehicles sold.
Source: Automotive News
Interviewed by Automotive News, Speck admitted that five or six of the nine models would be taken off the market. In order to increase profitability, only the models presenting the highest sales volume potential will survive the purge. He said the new S60 sedans and the XC60 and XC90 SUVs would be among them.
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| Volvo S60 (Photo: Volvo) |
That means the C30, S40, V70, S80 and XC70 could soon disappear from the American automotive landscape. Speck also confirmed that the V50 would be pulled, seeing as consumers are consistently choosing utility vehicles over wagons, but he didn’t mention any specific dates, as Volvo wants to notify dealers first.
Such a decision will likely have an impact on the Canadian market, since Americans have a greater sales volume.
Sales have dramatically fallen since 2004, the year Volvo sold 139,384 units in the U.S., and in 2010 only 53,948 consumers brought a new Volvo home. Last year, the combined sales of the XC90, XC60 an S60 amounted to 23,584 units, while the six other models accounted for the remaining 30,362 vehicles sold.
Source: Automotive News