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Now that Ford has ditched… er, sold Jaguar and Land Rover they're turning their attention to their Swedish marriage from 1999. It seems that Volvo's North American sales slowdown has finally rippled across the pond. Volvo is reporting an 80-day supply of certain models. As a result the Swedes have decided to idle the factory in Uddevalla (a joint venture with Pininfarina) that produces the C70 for two weeks while Ford decides what to do. In addition, the factory in Torslanda will be idled for one week to get inventory down to their target level of 60 days. Obviously they don't have to deal with the UAW.
11 Comments on “Volvo Slows Production...”
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And Toyota is increasing Prius production by 60% next year. Here in Oregon, older Volvos are increasingly being replaced by the Prius.
For both Volvo and Saab (GM purchase), I’ve been mystified. I’ve wondered what huge, deep-pocketed corporations like GM and Ford were thinking. Both brands are where they are today because of a dearth of product development.
How come the S60, which should be Volvo’s volume-seller, is so old? Where’s the redesign? And both brands also need to recognize that they no longer have the positive reputation / cachet they once had, and price accordingly, or equip accordingly. It’s absurd to have to throw a few necessary options on an S40 (e.g. leather, sunroof, power seats…) and find yourself smack-dab in the middle of 3-series (or high-A4) territory.
I won’t even go into Saab’s 9-5, a segment leader when it came out in 1997…. and it is still the 1997 model that’s out there.
If only there was some way to mate a Prius with a 240 wagon…
Well, heck yes, the bastard offspring would be ugly. But if I’m sitting inside it, the outside can’t hurt MY eyes.
Volvos best selling car has been the XC90, selling most units per year.
At the Vancouver Autoshow, Volvo didn’t even have a C70 on display last week. I was told they couldn’t get a model in time. Can you believe an autoshow without all your models? In Vancouver, I’ve never seen this before.
As predicted, Volvo is now losing money and now market share. Why?
Because they have no brand.
Volvo used to stand for safety, now Renault are the safety kings, so what does Volvo stand for?
XC90 is a good SUV, but it is still a car in a dying market segement.
Meanwhile, Jaguar are ramping up production due to the rising sales of the XF.
Well done, Ford, you bet on the wrong horse…..!
KatiePuckrik> Well Renault is the king of crashtests. Volvo, Saab and recently Toyota are the kings of real safety.
I would agree that Volvo hasn’t managed it’s brand as they should have, but “they have no brand” isn’t correct either.
Volvo hasn’t got UAW, but they’ve got http://www.ifmetall.se. But I would agree that IF Metall is better at creating a synergy with the respective company, where in the US the unions and companies seem to have the opposite of synergy. Either the union takes advantage of the company, or the company takes advantage of the employees.
I used to be a big Volvo fan, but today there is no really good reason to buy one, except perhaps if you want a station wagon.
Volvo should have built the world’s best high end minivan 15 years ago … but no, we got the “sexy” C70 instead. It has been a looser forever. Too expensive for what it really is.
Today there is no reason to buy a Volvo over the competing offerings from Acura, Lexus and Infiniti. The Japanese offerings are better built, longer lasting and more sophisticated. Who would want an S60 instead of a G35? An Acura MDX is going to be serving you well long after an XC90 has been retired due to escalating service costs. Volvo doesn’t have a single best-in-class product.
Besides being old, the S60 is too small, especially in the back seat. For some reason the S70 (850) sized car which was exactly right for four adults was replaced by a smaller car at the same price point. For some reason the V70 lived on, but in sedans you have to go smaller (S60) or bigger (S80).
Modern Volvos also do not age as well as they used to. My friends with 100k+ miles modern Volvos are constantly dealing with expensive ancillary system repairs, and Volvo’s parts pricing is typically European absurd.
Volvo never expanded it’s production base out of high cost Europe and has long counted on the US at it’s single biggest market. Now with the dollar in the tank Volvo is in a real bind. It’s largest market pays in worthless dollars. It doesn’t help that over the years unlucky customers have gotten stuck with horrible problems and an unsympathetic Volvo USA. ABS controllers that fail soon after the warranty is up, a flood of failed throttle bodies which Volvo finally had to extend the warranty on after a protracted legal battle, etc.
Ford has mismanaged this one as badly as it did Jaguar and Land Rover.
Finally, I agree that Volvo’s hold on the safety brand is dead. Nearly every automobile Volvo competes with now sports advanced safety engineering. Volvo set off on a course of pursuing fashion over the past decade or so and now is reaping the ups and downs that go with such a strategy.
Still hungry Tata?
jthorner> I think that Volvo offers attractive cars, much more exciting than the “US-brand-bland”-mix from Acura, Infiniti and Lexus.
Regarding quality I would agree somewhat, using FoMoCo components gives you FoMoCo quality. But if you look close at many of the components in a Volvo, you find that they are from Denso. DENSO is a member of the Toyota Group companies.
Love the XC70, but jeez, it stickers for more than a Buick Enclave, has less room, gets poorer fuel consumption. And has a bad repuation for very pricey work starting to ramp up once the warranty is up.
I think the Subaru make has quietly intruded on the former Volvo stronghold in the US northeast, offering a perception of superior value and longterm quality.
ronin> I agree that Subaru make nice cars, well engineered, good quality.
Regarding XC70 vs. Enclave. The AWD models consume 15 / 22 vs. 16 / 22. The Enclave is roomier, because it’s bigger, but as you say then the smaller XC70 really should have better mpgs.
I think that Ford should have invested more of Volvo Cars earlier profits in Volvo product development.