JANUARY SALES WORLDWIDE - VOLVO - Growth in all major markets

Volvo Cars’ global sales up 1.6 percent, growth in all key markets

• Volvo Cars’ 19^th consecutive month of growth
• Global sales of 30,854 cars, up 1.6 per cent versus January last year

Volvo Cars posted a 19^th consecutive month of retail sales growth in January with Europe, China and the United States all recording sales increases compared to January 2014.

Sales of Volvo Cars in Europe rose 4.9 per cent versus the same month last year. Most European markets did well, with the United Kingdom being the main growth driver; up 34.4 per cent versus January 2014.

Sweden remains a growing market for Volvo Cars with retail sales of 3,628 cars, up 0.2 per cent from the same month last year, and Volvo Cars retains its 20 per cent market share. The Volvo XC60 and XC70 crossovers were the best-selling models.

China also reported growth with January sales of 5,879 cars, up 0.7 per cent versus January last year. Volvo Cars’ best-selling models in China were the XC60 and the S60L.

Sales in the United States were up by 0.1 per cent to 3,795 cars in January. The best-selling models were the Volvo XC60 and S60.

“2014 was a good year and we continue the positive trend into 2015 with our 19^th month of consecutive growth,” says Alain Visser, Senior Vice President Marketing, Sales and Customer Service at Volvo Cars. “The fact that we have received over 15,000 pre-orders for the all new XC90 before its arrival in showrooms shows promise for Volvo Cars’ future.”

Retail sales status (deliveries to end customers) for Volvo Car Group is as follows:

	January
	2014	2015	Change
China	5 841	5 879	0,7%
USA	3 792	3 795	0,1%
Sweden	3 621	3 628	0,2%
Western Europe*	11 701	12 277	4,9%
Other markets	5 417	5 275	-2,6%
TOTAL	30 372	30 854	1,6%
*excluding Sweden

The Volvo XC60 was the best-selling mode in January with 10,403 sold cars (2014: 8,947), followed by the Volvo V40 and V40 Cross Country for which deliveries reached a total of 6,990 cars (2014: 6,575). The V60 and V60 Cross Country models were third best selling at 3,989 cars (2014: 4,628).

USA - Volvo's revival plan starts with immediate effect after dropping to its lowest level since 1978.

After its U.S. market share fell to the lowest level since 1978, Volvo has put its global product strategy chief in charge of North America and significantly boosted its marketing budget in preparation for an upcoming blitz of new vehicles.

Lex Kerssemakers, a 55-year-old native of the Netherlands, replaces Tony Nicolosi as CEO of Volvo Cars of North America after a 15-month period in which sales continued to fall. Kerssemakers, whose 29 years at Volvo include no prior stints in the U.S., described his immediate task as "very simple and very clear": put the Chinese-owned brand on a path back toward annual U.S. sales of at least 100,000 units.

Last year, it sold just 56,366.

"The revival plan of the U.S. starts now, and it will be very much product and brand driven," Kerssemakers told Automotive News. "With a strong network, a strong brand, strong products and a good financial offer, I'm convinced Volvo will be back on track."

Given Volvo's performance in five years under Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Kerssemakers' job hardly appears simple. It's one of just two U.S. brands with sales that have declined since 2009, vs. a 58 percent gain for the industry overall.

Volvo was the worst-performing luxury brand in 2014, posting an 8 percent decline from the year before. It finished 2014 with just 0.3 percent of the overall U.S. market, half the share it had a decade ago.

Kerssemakers said he believes the company can reverse its sales slide this year but would not give a specific projection. He also declined to say how much Volvo has raised its marketing budget.

"We think it should be sufficient to start the revival journey and increase the level of awareness," he said. "We're working on the marketing plan now."

Kerssemakers will oversee the rollout of several critical models in 2015, including the XC90 large crossover and V60 Cross Country wagon. Volvo also plans to begin importing the S60 Inscription, a long-wheelbase sedan it unveiled at the Detroit auto show this month, to the U.S. from China.

The XC90 is well-executed and a "hugely significant statement car" for Volvo, said Stephanie Brinley, a senior analyst with IHS Automotive. She said Volvo's methodical approach since Ford Motor Co. sold the brand in 2010 could pay off down the road but that its rebound won't be quick.

IHS projects Volvo's U.S. sales to be only 80,000 units by 2020.

"They chose to kind of sit back for a while, which in the short term means lost sales and, unfortunately, some American consumers have forgotten about them as a brand," Brinley said. "The issue is it will take a little time to regain share of mind."

Kerssemakers said he realizes dealers' hands have been tied by the aging vehicles on their lots. He plans to meet with them at the end of March to lay out where the brand is headed.

"The dealers have faced a situation where they did not get fresh products in the way they were used to from Volvo," Kerssemakers said. "So we need to show them and convince them that this is coming, so that they start to invest in the brand Volvo again. Those elements should lead us to the 100,000 and to a sustainable equation."

He said it's too soon to say when Volvo could reach 100,000 units but that he hopes to have a better idea in six to eight months.

In addition to being North American CEO, Kerssemakers is now senior vice president for the Americas, with responsibility for North and South America, giving him broader authority than Nicolosi had.

Nicolosi was named president of Volvo Cars Financial Services of the Americas. Before becoming CEO of Volvo Cars of North America, initially in an acting capacity at the age of 53 in October 2013, he was head of Volvo Car Financial Services U.S.

Volvo recently shifted profit-and-loss responsibility in the U.S. to its three regions, a move that Kerssemakers said increases accountability and reduces the "number of layers between there, where the action is, and executive management."

You can reach Nick Bunkley

UK SALES - VOLVO - The Swedish car giant has best UK sales in Twenty years.

• 26% year-on-year increase to 41,057 sold
• V40/V40 Cross Country tops leader board with 18,086 cars sold
• Record year leads into strong 2015 with the introduction of the all-new Volvo XC90
• Volvo Car Corporation reveals global all-time record sales performance in 2014 of 465,866

Volvo Car UK is celebrating its best sales performance in 20 years, proof of the desirability of its cars and demand for Volvo’s new in-house Drive-E powertrains with class leading emissions and performance. 2014 sales volumes have meant Volvo starts 2015 on the front foot with a strong and healthy order book in place.

Volvo Car UK recorded a 26 per cent year-on-year sales increase in 2014, with the Volvo V40/V40 Cross Country taking top honour with 18,086 sold followed by the XC60 with 9,959 and V60 with 4,188.

Volvo Car Corporation sales increased 8.9 per cent in 2014, setting a new record of 465,866 cars. The XC60 was Volvo Cars’ best-selling vehicle globally with 136,993 cars, followed by the V40/V40 Cross Country with 110,528. December marked the 18th month of consecutive sales increase.

2014 saw the introduction of, and the groundwork laid, for some important new Volvo models. The V60 Polestar, although not a volume car, showed the potential performance direction that could be taken. The launch of Volvo’s own in-house designed and built Drive-E powertrains also arrived in the range.  

And, while 2014 saw the end of production of the first generation XC90, 2015 will see the introduction and launch of the all-new XC90, the first car to use Volvo’s brand new SPA chassis. 2015 will also see the launch of the new V60 Cross Country and further roll-out of more new Drive-E engines to complement the existing D4 and T5.

Nick Connor, managing director of Volvo Car UK, said: “I am extremely pleased with our 2014 performance, and the strong contribution the UK has made to what was a record-breaking year for Volvo globally. In a very competitive market, we have outperformed many of our rivals and the heavy investment that we have put into our cars and engines is already bearing fruit. Our new Drive-E engines have had an extremely positive impact on our volume and with an exciting array of new models and engines arriving in 2015, we are set for yet another year to remember.”

“2014 has been a fantastic year for Volvo and our dealers,” said Jon Wakefield, sales director for Volvo Car UK. “Our performance shows we have the right cars, with the right engines and with the right offer. With our dealers, we’ve worked hard in the last 18 months to capitalise on the attractiveness of our new products and technologies, leading to a spectacular year-end result and a strong starting position for 2015. Our sales success in 2014 is not only a result of the efforts at Volvo Cars, but also the tremendous work that has been put in by our dealer network to reach this great milestone.”

Four Volvo models tested by IIHS – four models awarded Top Safety Pick+

• Four Volvo models tested by IIHS – four models awarded Top Safety Pick+

Volvo Cars has once again performed very well in the annual IIHS Top Safety Pick+ Awards. In this year's honors list four Volvo cars made the Top Safety Pick+ grade: the S60, V60, S80 and XC60. Volvo Cars was the only European brand with more than two models on the list.

“Volvo Cars' commitment to real-life safety and our Vision 2020, which states that no one will be killed or seriously injured in or by a new Volvo car, underlines our approach towards continuous improvement in this field. At Volvo Cars we focus on real-life safety - reflecting the many and varied causes and results of car accidents. It is of course a wonderful thing that we receive such honors and recognition for our advanced safety innovations from leading safety institutes,” said Dr. Peter Mertens, Senior Vice President Research & Development at Volvo Cars.

The Tops Safety Pick+ award criteria have grown tougher in the last twelve months, with increased demands around the standard for front crash prevention. To meet the new criteria cars making the Top Safety Pick+ grade must offer the ability to stop or slow down without driver intervention before hitting a target in IIHS tests at 12 mph, 25 mph or both.

Volvo Car’s front crash avoidance technology, City Safety, which is standard in all new Volvos, effectively helps to detect and brake automatically to mitigate or prevent a car to car rear end collision without driver intervention. Volvo’s City Safety technology has been shown to reduce insurance claim frequency by 16 percent*.

“Volvo Cars has received much recognition during its long history of safety driving the industry forward. A perfect example of this is the three-point safety belt, invented at Volvo in 1959 and now used globally by all car makers. With the sales start of the All-New XC90 in 2015 Volvo Cars will offer the world’s most advanced crash avoidance technology as standard,” said Thomas Broberg, Senior Safety Advisor at Volvo Cars.

Volvo to dump the majority of world motor shows in favour of "online marketting" - oh dear, really ?!?!

Volvo Cars said it will start selling vehicles online as it rolls out new models to compete with German luxury rivals BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz.

The Swedish carmaker, controlled by China's Geely, will gradually introduce web sales and spend more on digital advertising, the company said today as it outlined changes to its global marketing strategy.

"The plan is to have all our car lines in all our markets offered digitally," Volvo sales chief Alain Visser said in an interview.

"We know from research that more and more of our customers are ready to buy online," Visser said. "The reason why they are willing to buy is not to get a cheaper price, but to avoid the hassle around negotiating the deal."

Few manufacturers have tried selling directly online. A notable exception is Tesla, whose electric car sales have cut out traditional dealers, leading to conflict and effective exclusion from parts of the United States.

But Volvo has assured its 2,000 global dealerships, half of which are in Europe, that it has no such plans.

"If you say the word e-commerce, initially dealers get nervous," Visser said.

"We don't see a car distribution network without dealers in the foreseeable future," he said, adding that vehicles sold online "will still pass through the dealer network" for delivery.

Volvo raised its 2014 sales goal in August as it launched a revamped XC90 crossover, the first vehicle developed under Zhejiang Geely Holding Group ownership.

With its flagship SUV and other models to follow, Volvo is ratcheting up the gadgetry and glitz to woo Chinese customers without losing sight of core attributes including safety and uncluttered Scandinavian design.

Volvo said it would not follow rivals into city-center boutique dealerships of the kind increasingly used by BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi. "We're a different brand with limited financial means," Visser said. "We don't believe in building these big palaces."

Some 80 percent of Volvo customers already shop online for other goods, the sales chief added, and research suggests many will do the same for cars in future.

But some analysts such as Stuart Pearson of Exane BNP Paribas remain skeptical, citing weak orders from experimental online sales of the BMW's i8 hybrid sports car. "BMW has tried it in Germany, but they really haven't had a huge amount of volume," Pearson said. "People still want to go into dealers."

Fewer auto shows

Volvo is also shifting its focus from auto shows to market more directly to buyers. Starting next year, the company will take part in just one motor show per region: Geneva in Europe, Shanghai or Beijing in China and Detroit in the U.S.

"We have been doing what is expected in the car industry so far, and we're going to do things that are unexpected," Visser said. The carmaker needs to "stand out and challenge things," just as its products will, he said.

Volvo's decision to leave some key auto shows, including Frankfurt and Paris, contrasts with the desire of German competitors BMW, Audi and Mercedes to show off. Interest in such shiny and sometimes extravagant affairs is especially high in emerging markets, where car ownership is soaring.

Audi attends all the major international shows including Paris, Geneva and Shanghai. At the last two industry events in Frankfurt, Audi constructed temporary free-standing exhibition halls to display its latest models and seek to one-up rivals. In 2011, that meant spending more than 10 million euros ($12 million) on an indoor test track.

"When we go there, we try to be the best," said Luca de Meo, Audi's sales chief. "We see them as very important platforms," he said, especially in growth markets like China, where car shows are proliferating.

Small player

Volvo's Visser said: "Let's be honest about it: We're still a relatively small player. We have an 800,000 volume forecast by 2020, which means that our budgets compared to our some of our competitors are still going to be relatively small."

Volvo will probably sell about 465,000 vehicles in total this year, Visser said. By comparison, BMW is set to deliver more than 2 million autos this year, a record, after handing 1.9 million over to customers from January to November. Audi sold 1.59 million cars over the same period, also setting a record. Daimler delivered 1.49 million Mercedes-branded vehicles.

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