Volvo To Slash US Lineup: Which Would You Kill?
Volvo has come to the kind of conclusion we haven’t heard from an automaker in some time: it’s selling too many models. With nine models currently on the market, the Chinese-owned Swedish automaker has opted to cut that number by “five or six” nameplates, and will rebuild its US lineup around its XC60 and XC90 crossovers, and S60 sedan. As a Volvo spokesman explains to Bloomberg
We have to focus on the key segments with significant volume potential.
The first model to go from the lineup will be the V50 station wagon, but from there it’s anyone’s guess. To help kick off the speculation, we present the graph above, charting the recent sales fortunes of the nameplates that Volvo is considering for death. Since the one model on the chart that has already been marked for death (the V50) has the lowest volume, it might be safe to guess that the next model up the volume ladder (C30) will be the next to die. From there, it’s a lot more complicated. Last year the S40 moved 5,623 units, the C70 sold 5,263 units, the XC70 sold 6,626 units and the S80 sold 7,724. In terms of sheer volume, there’s reason to kill every one of these nameplates… but strategically there’s just as much of an argument for investing in any one of them. Too bad there’s only marketing resources for “five or six” nameplates. So, which models would you kill?
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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Overpriced ans under-engineered - marked for death. Seriously, besides the good seats, what doe Volvo give you for the money they ask? And extremely unreliable and gas-guzzling too! Add to it - Chinese. I don't buy cars @ Walmart.
I think Volvo just has a confusion nomenclature for their models. I'm seeing that the switch from 850 and 960 to V and S designations was the beginning of their market share decline. So Volvo has very few models: a subcompact model (30/40), a compact (50/60), a midsize model (70/80), and a couple SUV's (60/90). For a company as small as Volvo, that's marketing suicide to spread so few advertising dollars across so many "models" with their XC60/XC70/XC90, C30/C70, S40/S60/S80, V50/V70 line up.
What's a Volvo? That is the problem. Volvo isn't sure itself. Signed, An XC90 owner
Let's take a look at the models in Volvo's lineup with too much overlap. First, you obviously see the S40 and S60. Clearly, S40 is the weaker one. I know they're different platforms, with S40 closer to 1-series in size, but it's virtually a smaller version of S60. Ax it first I'd say. V50 vs V70. Same story here. V50 is too similar to V70, and doesn't sell well. Next, I'd hate to say it, but XC70 probably has to go. There are too many SUV's in Volvo's lineup for this to survive. Perhaps bring it back as a slightly raised version of AWD V70. S80.. tough call here. By all accounts, it's been a disappointment. They should probably replace it with a better car. C70 or C30, nice little niche vehicles. They don't seem to sell well, though. Ax. Perhaps volvo should come up in future with a unified couple/cabrio platform based on next generation S60. And in general, given the low volume of Volvo's sales overall, they should focus on two platforms only. The "medium size" and "full size". The medium size could serve as basis for the future S60, V70, and XC60 and the large platform could be used by XC90 and S80