XC60 delivery timescale (replacing my XC90)
 

I ordered an XC60 Recharge Ultimate in early Sep with anticpated delivery of Dec 2023. Subsequently this was pushed back to end Jan 2024. I've just had an updated delivery estimate of August 2024, almost a year after ordering it. I've said this is unacceptable and the dealer is pursuing it with Volvo UK. What if August isn't even achievable?

It has me wondering what is going on with Volvo. The XC60 is popular but is it really that popular? Supply chain issues should be largely history now. Or has shifting production to China caused unforeseen problems? Also, are other territories suffering similar delays? Or is it the B word that cannot be uttered?

Obviously it puts me in a dilemma: cancel the order (thus losing the deal) and go elsewhere or wait it out?

Must contact my dealer as I ordered the same XC60 model early September with same dates Dec/January you mention...

MY25 Price list
 

Well the discounts have been reduced in the last couple of days on XC60 & XC90 - on the XC90 recharge it was about £11k, now it is £7k. Lead times have increased, and there are fewer stock/short delivery cars than a month ago.

The MY25 Pricelist is out for the XC60 - Ultimate has gone - so I assume you will get an Ultra... Not sure of the changes...

https://www.volvocars.com/images/v/-...-pricelist.pdf

It's a long wait, and a big jump from Jan to Aug - so good luck.

Just heard from my dealer that car has been built and is awaiting shipping to Bristol. However as long delays at Bristol due to a backlog that has built up so will not be shipped until the backlog cleared. Still expect to pick up car late January

Am to understand that the car is in China and will be shipped to Bristol? If so, then I think end of Jan is quite optimistic.

Well that’s interesting! Two cars essentially the same as the only options were colour of paint and interior yet one being delivered 7 months after the other?

I’ll be onto my dealer in the morning.

Have to agree now that shipping through the Suez and Panama canals is restricted. I assume cars are no longer coming via Russia either.

We get goods from China to our factory. Now China is a big place and shipping routes vary, but in normal times we reckon 6 to 12 weeks for delivery. We have been warned that because of the middle east issues this is now going to be longer.

Yes I also assume the overland train route stopped after the sanctions imposed on Putin.

I went to see my dealer for an update today. Ordered in early October, I was anticipating a mid-Feb delivery. Now told it’s early May. The dealer did expect that to improve but I’m a bit narked that no one had updated me on this 2 month+ slip.

I called the Volvo UK sales line today for an update to see if they had any more info than the dealer had.

It was a complete waste of time. Spoke to someone in a far off land (with a 2 second round-trip delay on the audio) who said that there was nothing on the system to say when it might be delivered and couldn't offer any explanation for the delay. A typical call-centre experience.

I'm glad I ordered it through a dealer because at least there's someone to 'have a go at'. Heaven help anyone who ordered directly and has a call-centre to deal with.

My mistake - I ordered in late August, so a May delivery will make it over 9 months.

If my order through covid times was anything to go by Volvo dates were all over the place then it just turned up out of the blue and I was expected to pay for it a few months earlier, which was a bit inconvenient as due to long lead times I was being told I used funds for another project intending to use my next bonus, so had to to a bit of scrambling for cash.

I thought XC60s for UK were made in Sweden, China ones for USA market..

All in China as all the EV stuff, battery and motor etc is from same place, saves a tonne of money, maximum profit.

Interesting as I read a very similar comment from James Dyson in an interview yesterday. The main driver for manufacturing in Singapore was not labour saving (in fact labour is perhaps even more expensive than the UK), but supply chain considerations. The UK market is only 4% of their global market and dragging all the components from the far east to the UK to then send the majority of the finished products back again meant that they weren't making any money. I would expect that the economics for Volvo and electric cars is very similar.

Might only be the case for the recharge, my VIN starts with L so its Chinese, maybe non recharge are from elsewhere.

Think it all started moving there when there were supply chain issues.

My XC90 (T5) was made in Sweden. If I ordered a Volvo again and it was to come from China I would prefer to take one of their random brands and save a packet.

Why? Being made in China does not make all products equal. It is a massive country with a massively diverse manufacturing base.

I've had an update from the dealer. It seems that Volvo were planning on moving maufacturing of XC60 PHEVs to Sweden or Belgium but have now decided to continue manufacturing in China until 2025. I'm not convinced this is the only reason for the delay but I suppose it could be part of it.

It's hoped that a build slot will be allocated in Jan/Feb but it will then take up to 3 months to ship the car from China so delivery would then be April/May.

We'll see...

I have nothing against buying Chinese at all but I object to companies charging European premium prices for cars made there. It might be illogical but I still feel European brands are trying to get away with making us pay for premium quality which is negated when the cars are not built here. The big impact of the move to BEVs I suspect will be several European brands folding as the Chinese supply a whole range of quality, cheaper products. MG is a good example of this.

Sounds like a fluff response to me, no reason to move a platform in its last days back to an expensive production unless EU get super protectionist like the US. EU/UK were trying to with the rules that were supposed to come into force on the first with respect to rules on origin, but of course not having invested enough in supporting localised industries they have had to push it back, this is more likely the reason to delay cars whilst they see whioch way it was going to fall and whether they'd have to up prices for additional tariffs.

No cars are built here, both EU and China are imported goods to UK, if the quality is good I'll buy from either, there's no reason really to support one over the other, both fill another states coffers and supports people that are not here.

MGs are good for the money, but they are not as good as any Volvo.

I suspect the cheap Chinese car will soon be a thing of the past as each country does what the US has done and starts to implement protectionist policies for their own industries and people.

And starting at about 32k the Volvo EX30 is at a not dissimilar price point to the MGs, BYDs and GWM Ora cars. I know which I would rather have (in fact have already ordered.....).

I guess we all have different views. My thesis is that the major European brands have been milking consumers for years with ever increasing margins the reward. We are now going through a massive technological disruption and the Chinese/Koreans (and Californians) have a lead. Volvo is better places than most for obvious reasons (and the EX30 is good relative value as is mentioned) but the BEVs coming out of Europe are just deeply unimpressive on both range and price criteria. It’s a great opportunity for the Chinese to take market share until the Europeans move on from their ‘rushed out in a hurry’ current BEV offerings.

PS I’d still buy a petrol XC90 if prices/spec options were more reasonable. I’m going down to funerals in southern England soon and will do 1000+ miles in a few days. Still don’t fancy that in a BEV.

Placed order for XC60 in Sept- started with late jan deliver, then told Feb/march- called Volvo Uk this week- production delays on XC60- should be with dealer in May.
Now thinking of cancelling.

Also seeing what options are available.
I spoke to Volvo earlier and the issue is, apparently, distribution problems in Belgium. I was expecting late Jan/early Feb but the estimate is now May. The Volvo person did her best to emphasise that May is pessimistic.

Xc60 plus
 

I ordered an XC60 Plus in Aug 23. Due Jan/Feb but pushed back to April. I was told by Volvo they have difficulty with ‘build slots’ (?) Not sure what is going on really.

I spoke to Volvo this morning. My car hasn't been allocated a build slot but they anticipate it'll be allocated Feb/March which would mean a late April or early May delivery. Honestly, not holding my breath.

He acknowledged that Volvo is having production issues. He also said that they are now re-routing components and finished cars away from the Red Sea and that's adding a minimum 14 days to the journey.

That is annoying. You would think that after Covid, companies were building more resilience into supply chains. I still miss Volvos’ being made in Sweden or Belgium but so be it.

Autocar have tested the XC60 and given it a bit of a kicking which I think is unfair:

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/volvo/xc60

I find the XC60 and XC90 still to be compelling cars and can’t understand why Volvo won’t be keeping them in production as ICE cars as fully amortised good margin products. They won’t have a problem meeting the BEV targets so I don’t see the downside in keeping these cars on the market but the Autocar article says the XC90 is about to die. Shame.

I agree with the 'pros' and don't have an issue with the so-called 'cons'. As soon as reviewers talk about dull handling and uninvolving drive I switch off. Just give me silence and comfort. I'm a big fan of the interiors in particular and think they've aged really well. I actually prefer the look to some of the more modern competitors.

Also you have to question a reviewer who doesn't get the basic facts correct. The driver's display is 12" (has been for years) and the T8 doesn't have a supercharger any longer.

Like you, I'm very surprised Volvo will drop these cars soon. They should be a big cash-cow for Volvo. Plus, BEV cars aren't suitable for everyone. I make a 1,800 miles round trip to France every year. I can't imagine stopping every few hours to charge up.

T8
 

My understanding is that the T8 has both a turbo and a super charger.

Mine does from 2016, but was it not deleted from about MY21?

with bigger battery in came a larger up front e motor instead of supercharger, some manufacturers like Audi call this bigger front motor an e supercharger, perhaps Volvo have done the same in marketing speak?

Again my understanding is the previous T8 had about 400bhp, where as the latest T8 has as we know 450bhp. Th extra is due to the increase in output from the electric motor.
But I stand to be corrected if I am wrong.

Yes you are correct, the newer T8's (Turbo only) have actually lost approx 10hp on the ICE alone but gained 58hp with the improved electric motor in the ERAD. The E-Boost starter/generator that is incorporated in with the ICE and gearbox (to provide torque fill in place of the supercharger) has the same power (90hp) as the older T8's ERAD has so overall the newer T8's feel much quicker than the older twincharged cars did and ditching the supercharger really did improve efficiency.

So now I am confused....

Old T8s. 320bhp ICE up front with turbo and supercharger. 87bhp ERAD at back. 407bhp total. Starter generator used to charge batteries and start engine (which is located under bonnet).

New T8s. 310bhp ICE with turbo I understand, but then I get lost with how it becomes 455bhp. Does the starter generator now operate as a boost for the engine aswell as starting it and charging the batteries?

I've checked the tech specs on some older price lists.

That's correct.

MY24: ICE output 310hp, electric 145hp making 455hp total.
It's unclear whether the additional electric power comes solely from the ERAD or is partly from the SG.

Curiously, for MY21 the figures are ICE 303hp and electric 87hp making 390hp. Maybe the 'missing' 17hp from previous specs is the removal of the supercharger?

Supercharger on old cars wasn't really used for power but low down torque whilst turbo span up, this fill in can now be done with the e motors. ISG does do assist also.

Handy image of latest setup

https://i.postimg.cc/cLFjpBNc/volvo-t8-powertrain.webp

Same here. Ordered XC60 T8 12 September, est del was mid Dec, then amended to end Jan or Feb a month ago. Now, (after much pressure for info from me directly with Volvo) another 7 months, ie August. Unacceptable, but if it is due to parts on back order why don't they say? Now cancelled, and found a 6 month old T8 with collection next week.

Your MY21 car still has the supercharger, the change to Turbo only came at the time the 'Extended Range' drivetrain with 18.8kwh batteries was introduced sometime in mid/late 2022.
For some reason between MY20 and MY21, Volvo reduced the T8 ICE output (quite likely an emissions thing) but I believe the additional output could be regained by getting the Polestar Optimisation software put on it.
My MY20 Polestar Engineered ICE produced nearly 340hp with a combined power of 420hp but I think the MY21 Polestar Engineered only had 405hp same as the MY21 T8 with Polestar Optimised software.

Yes it does and it does a really good job of it too.
I was worried when swapping my car to the newer drivetrain and loosing the supercharger as I was expecting it to be a little laggy on pickup but the responsiveness of the newer drivetrain is superb, especially when driving it in Power/Polestar Engineered mode.
When going for an overtake, the rate at which it responds and accelerates can sometimes catch you out and you almost have to swerve around the car you are overtaking as it surges forward.