Geely Boss Li Shufu mentioned just hours after the announcement of the Chinese automakers purchase of Volvo that he wants Volvo cars to compete with top end marques like BMW and Mercedes. Li attributes the Swedish brand’s struggling sales as compared to top flight automakers to the pricing of the models.
A new BMW 740i sedan and Mercedes-Benz S400 hybrid in the US retails for about $70,150 and $87,950 respectively which is more than double of Volvo’s $39,200 for its top of the range sedan, the Volvo S80. Li says Volvo need products to compete in that segment.
Speaking more on the overall progression to profitability, Li pointed out that 380,000 units had to be sold every year for Volvo to become profitable which is a far cry from the 335,000 units they sold last year, suffering a loss of $653 million. In order for Volvo to get an upper hand in the competition, they [Volvo] need to pump out more volume.
Part of the plan is also to create more awareness in the Chinese market of Volvo’s heritage of developing features such as air bags or catalytic converters. In regards to a 380,000 units every year, Li said that no decision has been made and that would require market studies, board and government approval.
He went on to say that he was happy with the Volvo buy branding it a historic opportunity and does not see any similar deals available in the near future. “It’s very difficult to find a good brand like Volvo you can buy. If Mercedes Benz wants to sell itself, I think Chinese companies would be interested”.
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Hpe that the quality will be maintain………GOOD!
is this mean volvo will become more expensive?
volvo now very cheap?
not cheap to u,,,but the cheapest high end continental car ….try compare new bmw,merc,audi ,,,compare to volvo then u know
R.I.P
one major thing is volvo should go back to their famous brick look, it will be really good to see them making the box to be modern.
box doens’t mean not sexy, but it would look very stylish, like how bmw did to their rolls royce series.
one more thing, go back to RWD volvo.
This is what’s making me worried.
[Chinese firm buys Volvo. New Boss says Volvo needs to sell 380k cars per year. When asked about the figure, he admits no actual decision has been made about that and he just plucked out the 380k figure from thin air.
That’s akin from speaking out of his ass.]
Volvo is doomed. Such a pity, I was looking forward to getting an XC90 in the future if I were to start a family.
Hmmm…we still stand on our own two feets…congrats P1 & P2…
Or…nobody wants to buy them?
This Chinese guy is spot on…Volvo has lost its plot ages ago…Volvo used to be the preferred alternative for company cars back in the 80’s for companies that could not afford BMWs and Mercedes but sadly, the segment has been cannibalised by the Camrys and Accords and this is testimony of the marketing prowess and foresight of the Japanese rivals in bringing in the US models. Volvo had only the S40 and S60 which were not competitve against the more spacious Japanese rivals..
let the game begin, hehez….
can’t wait to see the actual car, S100 perhaps? LOL~
Volvo has to start with their door handle, I notice that their door handle is not very solid even on their S80. That will be the crucial part when the potential buyer had a first touch before entering into the car.
ooo… power window ok aa?
And where the engines and drivetrains for such a 7series or S-class competitor shall come from?
Does Geely Boss Li Shufu want to pay for the development of a new engine? ;)
4.4L V8 315hp is not good enuff?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_XC90
or maybe this will make you even happier
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_Automotive#Noble_M600
4.4L V8 315hp is from Ford. They agreed to supply engines for a period of time, but not for new projects as they are a future competitor to Volvo… ;)
any source i can read?
here is what i found (volvo + yamaha, no ford)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_B8444S_engine
I found it in your source (wikipedia):
‘A new Ford/Yamaha V8 engine was added in 2005. This 4.4 L Volvo B8444S V8 engine produced 292 hp (218 kW; 296 PS) for the first few models later upgraded to 311 hp (232 kW; 315 PS) and 325 ft·lbf (441 N·m) of torque. ‘
Volvo hasn’t really been developing new engines anyway. Their 4-cylinder engines are derived from Ford units, with the gearboxes also moving to twin-clutch units to have more parts commonality with Ford. Their V8 in the S80 flagship is a Yamaha unit. Their own in-house 5-cylinder engines are being phased out. Smart move by Volvo, so that they don’t need to waste money to develop competent engines, not when it’s more cost effective to use proven designs from better engine developers.
The Chinese has tons of money to burn… Even if they want to design a new power plant from scratch, I don’t see it would be a problem.
yes,volvo needs a better flagship than the S80 to boost it’s image.but a volvo can never command the same price as a benz or BMW,give a good premium product on par with the S or 7 as a 25% discounted price.this segment of users are usually chauffeur driven and place emphasis on quality,luxury,comfort and safety over handling.
volvos are never good handlers so they should give up trying to compete for the youthful market which will indefinitely prefer the 3 series
forgot about the C30? its a good handling car which targets the youthful market, and volvo had announce it have a higher sale than they expected
Years ago the boxy Volvo were as tough as tanks and people love it but now discerning buyers are looking further than safety issue.S60 and S80 fill some of the gap but still no good…In Malaysia the franchise holder have to resolve some issue: cheaper parts and lower maintenance cost(said to be the most costly among European brand) , 2nd value and accessibility to service centres etc.
Very true.. apparently most Volvo spare parts are costlier compared to the German ones!! 2nd hand value – can’t be helped. It depends on the market. In Malaysia, we do not need to be reminded that the low-end and mid-range 2nd hand value are dominated by T&H (although first-world countries are preferring Korean brands these days), while the high-end 2nd hand value are dominated by BMW and MB (although in Europe itself, Audi is more premium than these two).. mainly because of buyer preference and brand perception in the Malaysian market…
Volvo’s motto…..for life….Keep it for your entire life, don’t sell it cos’ depreciation will kill you. 2nd hand value is slightly better than scrap metal.
The dirty Chinese guys try to ruin my beloved Volvo!
The di.rty Chinese guys try to ruin my beloved Volvo!
interesting!
make it happen… pleaseee
+ wagon variant as well :P
From now on , VOLVO should create cars based on REAR WHEEL DRIVE (RWD) configuration which more widely accepted and saleable as proven in the past (122, 144, 240,740 , 940).
Since the 850 ( Front Wheel Drive ) came into the picture ( 1992) whereby Volvo spend huge R & D cost, Volvo of Today ( FWD) is no longer as durable , tough , long service life as they used to be. This is where Volvo is facing the failure Music when switching from RWD to ( FWD and AWD ) .
In other words, most family or executive cars should be just simple RWD and not FWD and complicated AWD design .
RWD always wins FWD hand down on
1) Toughness
2) Durability
3) Rugged
4) Handling
The Germans are smart in maintaining RWD when everyone is going for FWD . Today German cars rule with RWD outbeating FWD anytime.
Even Japanese FWD Cars of today does not have the durabilty , toughness and handling of past Japanese RWD Cars.
So this FWD concept from early MINI is a piece of Shit Egineering incorporated for Today modern Family and Executive FWD Cars
Bring back RWD and ditch the useless FWD
Then only Volvo Sales can gain momentum from now !!
Li Shifu should tell this to his Board to go for RWD in not repeating the past FWD mistake for Volvos.
its true rwd is better…
but dont just discriminate them with durabilty,toughness..etc
other manufacture has their own criteria..
some fwd are very good in terms of durabilty..
look at our taxi..mostly still running strong..and they are fwd..
What manufacturers criteria are you talking about?
Go ask any educated mechanics with sound automotive technical backgrounds for advise , they will tell you RWD design is definately more durable and rugged in usage compare to FWD .
Our Taxi uses small cars like the FWD Saga ( by international standard) and we do know these Taxis get their shock abosrbers ( becomes very soft quite often ) , drive shaft couplings and rubber seal housing worn out , rubber mountings worn out and etc and need to be changed at relatively short intervals without our knowledge. Is this call good durability when changing or relacing spare parts are quite constant or just because the parts are cheaper to be replaced ?.
So I would say FWD is only good for Small Light cars But for bigger and heavier cars in the D , E, and F Segment RWD is definately more durable and tougher.
This is why Mercedes and BMW engineers are not stupid to go for FWD but instead keep retaining RWD for their big cars.
Look at Australia , Holden commodore and Ford Falcon ,both are RWD and these cars suspensions are radial tuned to meet the toughness of Australian outback as another example. Imaging what will happen with a FWD in these Australian Outback tough conditions?
No basis in your assumption that RWD is tougher, more rugged and more durable than FWD. In terms of handling, it’s true that RWD handles better than FWD. But FWD is prevalent because of simplicity, lesser mechanical linkages between engine output to the driven wheels compared to RWD (RWD still needs prop shaft, rear diff, etc.) and it’s much more compact. FWD transaxles are increasingly being improved and refined with lesser moving parts, greatly improving their reliability.. just look at Hyundai and VW’s FWD gearboxes, they can be practically maintenance free throughout the vehicle’s lifespan!
FWD also has a slight advantage in terms of safety engineering – it’s easier to engineer the crumple zone and deformation pattern for a FWD platform, because both the engine and drivetrain are confined to just the front end ahead of the firewall. So, if they want to make the engine and gearbox go underneath the car in a certain way in the event of a terrible collision, they can do it readily.
For a RWD platform, in the event of a bad collision, the mid-mounted gearbox and the prop shaft are still wildcards.. the manufacturer can try and divert the impact force away from the passenger compartment and floor pan as much as they could, but their primary option is to ensure the stress members in front of the car absorb and dissipate as much energy as possible before the engine gets hit. There’s plenty of engine and drivetrain components right there in front, in between and beneath the passenger compartment.
Hence, RWD cars will inadvertently have more complicated sheet steel usage and definitely have a heavier body, which makes them less competitive for cost-effective mass-production compared to FWD.
Other than the handling part, I don’t see why a RWD’er is inherently better than a FWD’er.
FWD does have advantages on its own. Its cheaper, lighter, eats up less room (equating to more passenger room) and more efficient.
Most people would say toughness or durability does not relate to type of drivetrain, be it FWD or 4WD. But I just wondering, why most lorries and buses only use RWD drivetrain? And those vehicles are meant for tough applications : )
It’s because of push vs pull traction for moving goods. The load is at the back of the truck. If a truck is FWD, the front wheels will tend to slip upon acceleration or around bends. It has nothing to do with robustness.
Volvo is in the position Hyundai/Kia was several years ago – something promising but no brand value. They can reinvent themselves but they must decide what their niche is going to be. Deciding to go head to head with a 7-series is one thing, changing people’s mind to buy their 7-series beater is another.
They should also keep in mind, people buy 7-series and S-class for the prestige and image, not for practical reasons. People don’t only buy these cars because they have lots of legroom, or because they have acres of leather wrapping on the inside, or because they’re fun to drive. They buy these cars because they can make a statement with them, plain and simple. Volvo and Geely needs to be realistic about trying to take on the high-end because it’s not a matter of styling and features alone.
The thing is, Audi used to be the outsider of the . Back in the 1980’s, it used to be only Mercedes, BMW and Jaguar. Audi hardly register on everybody’s premium car radar screen.
But gradually they built up their brand with strong product portfolios, until what Audi brand become today.
And don’t forget about the power of STYLE, because that’s one of the main reason why people buy Audis nowadays..
So it means, it could also work for Volvo..
I hope Volvo makes a competitor and not an impersonator like Geely did to rolls royce
Volvo failed because other manufacturer’s caught up with them…and then made better cars. Plain and simple.
Volvo’s are synonymous with safety but then a cheap peugeot or renault beats it in safety ratings, you know they are in trouble.
They still make pretty compelling wagons though. Perhaps there is still light at the end of the tunnel where large markets are moving away from SUVs to lighter CUVs and back to station wagons (or sport wagons)…with even turbo charged i4s (Look at the new ford explorer). We in Malaysia is but one drop in the bucket for Volvo.
Can Volvo make a S class and 7er beater? Highly unlikely, but would they try. Sure.
Selling in China is about brand awareness and marketing. Can Volvo make up the volume to be profitable? no issues I would think…China alone would do that if thier marketing campaign works out.
Look at Audi’s remarkable turn from junk status to premier status. And then you’d see how. There some very good marketing people there…after all, an Audi is just a tarted up VW……
When it comes to China (or even big emerging markets like Russia, India) I think Volvo should be optimistic in getting the recognition/reception, similar to that of the German brands, as long as Volvo can come out with new & stellar product line up. The difficult ones are actually the European customers, their mindset are more difficult to change.
Basically the economic boom in China is ever growing, and so the demand for big luxury cars. Probably this is the reason, why Mr Li Shufu has envisioned, to produce a Volvo model that could rival the best of the German uber-saloons and get that slice of market share for luxury limos, not just China of course but worldwide.
So what kind of approach that Volvo should take to achieve this? – Benchmarking, built a car that rival every aspect of the automotive atrributes offered by S-Class, 7-series, A8, and maybe Jag XJ. Style, interior luxury, in-car gadgetary, performance. I don’t think handling is a really big issue for this segment, not many people on earth would want to race around in an S-Class! It’s not easy, but it’s possible. The Chinese owner has deep pockets by the way to fund the development : )
anyone remember volvo “eggs” advert?
well the cars are good products
Volvo just make them look good, like the car we saw in the twilight, driven by Rob Patt
look what chevrolet is doing with the Chevy beat and Cruze. and audi has evolved from plain jane to j.lo.
Looks are everything and yes they do make some I-don’t-get -it ads , wlarus may like it but i surely didnt
the C30 driven by Rob Pattison is definitely a good car which is targeting at the teenagers (who watches “twilight”)
These days many car brands changed hand to a businessman who lack of engineering experience and passionate about car. My prediction in the near future of manufactures that will survive would be (to name a few) Merc, BMW, VW, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai/Kia, PSA, Renault-Nissan, Ford and GM (the real American GM). Read that CEO/President’s profile.
I doubt, Land Rover, Jaguar, Volvo, Saab or even Lotus will survive, these brands would be once remembered like, Rover, Morris, TVR, Austin, Simply because while changing hands the volume is decreasing and they can not put their price like Ferrari, Aston Martin, Bentley, Lambo. or Porsche.