Volvo moves to agency model

[Tony Harrison]

It seems Geely has decided Volvo will make appliances. You can have small (40), medium (60) or large (90) - please tick box - but they are basically all the same and the customer has few options. They are already over-priced, currently have more style than Tesla but do not have the charging infrastructure.

The technology is flaky and the ride/handling balance has never been premium.

They call it seamless. I call it pointless.

Volvo is now just a brand name and could easily cease to resonate with buyers.

Sadly, I'm out.

[Ulrikas PA]

Originally Posted by Tony Harrison

It seems Geely has decided Volvo will make appliances. You can have small (40), medium (60) or large (90) - please tick box - but they are basically all the same and the customer has few options. They are already over-priced, currently have more style than Tesla but do not have the charging infrastructure.

The technology is flaky and the ride/handling balance has never been premium.

They call it seamless. I call it pointless.

Volvo is now just a brand name and could easily cease to resonate with buyers.

Sadly, I'm out.

The other Chinese brands are beginning to offer a variety of vehicles that will make Volvo look very staid and homogenous.

[Philip Fisher]

Originally Posted by Ulrikas PA

The other Chinese brands are beginning to offer a variety of vehicles that will make Volvo look very staid and homogenous.

With some very interesting names too. "GWM Ora Funky Cat" anyone?

[Frank Bullitt]

Originally Posted by cbarrow

I've driven a few and I don't like them (including XC40, Jaguar F-Pace) It is a matter of taste I guess. And not saying that Volvo and others don't make great cars that are SUVs, but just not my cup of tea. Give me a Volvo estate any day :

Same here. I’ve had the SPA XC60 as a courtesy car on a few occasions and it does nothing better than my V60 and a number of things that aren’t quite as good, mainly relating to on-road behaviour due to the higher centre of gravity.

I know people like SUV’s for a variety of reasons and I’m pleased for them but I can’t recall ever driving the SUV version and preferring it to the car (bought a Passat last time after driving a Tiguan for example).

My Polestar isn’t an SUV but is based on the XC40 platform that’s lowered as much as possible and you can tell - I wouldn’t want a car any higher. My next EV might be an EX30 but not if it feels like an SUV which I fear it will.

[Bendolfc]

Originally Posted by Frank Bullitt

My Polestar isn’t an SUV but is based on the XC40 platform that’s lowered as much as possible and you can tell - I wouldn’t want a car any higher. My next EV might be an EX30 but not if it feels like an SUV which I fear it will.

That makes no sense since your V60 was built on the same platform as the XC60 and XC90.

The Polestars height is nothing to do with the CMA platform.

[sk546]

Originally Posted by Bendolfc

That makes no sense since your V60 was built on the same platform as the XC60 and XC90.

The Polestars height is nothing to do with the CMA platform.

You are correct that the V60, XC60 & XC90 are all built on the same platform, the SPA, but just as the name suggests (Scalable Product Architecture), the platform is scalable for smaller and larger vehicles and as such are not identical.

Although all 3 (and all the other SPA cars) are designed on the same platform, they will drive very differently due to the differences in ride height, suspension type & travel, weight distribution, overall length etc etc so it actually makes perfect sense.

Another example of this is the Audi Q7, VW Touareg and Porsche Cayenne, all 3 cars are built on the same platform but all 3 cars drive very differently indeed even though they are all similar sized SUV's.

[cbarrow]

To add to the above. The higher the CofG, (generally) the worse the handling if other variables kept the same. Higher CofGs in SUVs give designers challenges maintaining 'reasonable' (saloon-like) handling. Therefore, for an equivalent car, the SUV variant road-holding/handling will (generally) be poorer than the estate or saloon. That said, few of us will get close to the limits of handling, perhaps except in an emergency manoeuvre (brake and swerve in the wet?), when you really want the best handling you can get!
For this reason, most race cars run as low as they can, up to the limit of either ground clearance, regulations, or aero balance (for those cars which are heavily aero dependent - Volvos not being one of them!).

[Ian0803]

Had an e-mail today from my previous dealer offering me a £5000 Volvo customer loyalty deposit against a 1.9% PCP or a 0% Loan with min 50% deposit. So from memory, pretty similar to what they were offering before minus the additional dealer discount.
Interesting that they now offer the T8 in core trim, but having suffered a considerable depreciation on what was a 15 month old XC90, and a price of ca £70k for a new B5D in Plus trim, I can't be considered a "loyal" customer any longer having spent my money on something far more exciting to drive for a bit less money.
Pretty sure that the £5000 loyalty bonus is available to any Tom, Dick or Harry and suggests to me that the initial move to an Agency model has seen a significant void in new orders

[Danny 1957]

Yep, I had the same offer. My XC90 was a year old five days ago but I do really like it.

[chrisrixy]

Maybe the agency model isn't going too well..

There is now £11500 off an XC90 Recharge, £10k off an XC60 Recharge and even £5,500 off the discontinued V90 ...

https://www.volvocars.com/uk/l/offers/volvo-savings/