Volvo's premium ambitions.
Discussion
Volvo have the ambition to be seen as a premium brand.
To that end Volvo UK are trying to establish dealerships in the big, rich towns and cities to rival their hoped for competitors in that segment. That means the closing down of well established dealers in provincial towns and cities.
With all the upheavals during the Ford ownership period and the brand's sale to the Chinese little has been done to raise their positioning from somewhere a shade above Vauxhall, Ford et al and next to the vacancy left by the demise of Saab. In the meantime the workaday brands have raised their game pretty much to rival Volvo....then you have to consider the likes of Kia, I see many more Kias in my local Waitrose amongst the Evoques and other off roaders that I ever do a contemporary Volvo.
Volvo have put the cart before the horse, they have surely to wait for the launch and hopeful acclaim of their new platform cars and the 4 pot engines before they walk away from their present market segment.
The provenance of the peers to whom they aspire has come from many years trading in so-called premium vehicles.
Only yesterday we have been told of Volvo local UK management's ill informed, stupid and parochial positioning of their peerless dealer in Chippenham as just a service dealer.
This privately owned and managed business is a shining light in the Volvo owning community that looks after its staff and customers alike and Volvo's loss of their new car sales in the coming months will be impossible to replace in the short term. Though Volvo do have a Bristol dealership with a poor aftermarket reputation but they do operate from a premium portacabin.
One lucky winner in this is Subaru who have quickly appointed MRG as their dealer in that area. They have a somewhat quirky image but one hell of a reputation for build quality that no premium brand can match.....certainly not Volvo.
Volvo will only be known as a 'premium' brand when their customers say so, and that will be based on their longer term experiences
Through contacts in Sweden and following a north American forum it seems that Volvo management in Sweden who must influence some of this are currently working their business towards a future not dissimilar to Saab.
Hopefully not.......
Don.
To that end Volvo UK are trying to establish dealerships in the big, rich towns and cities to rival their hoped for competitors in that segment. That means the closing down of well established dealers in provincial towns and cities.
With all the upheavals during the Ford ownership period and the brand's sale to the Chinese little has been done to raise their positioning from somewhere a shade above Vauxhall, Ford et al and next to the vacancy left by the demise of Saab. In the meantime the workaday brands have raised their game pretty much to rival Volvo....then you have to consider the likes of Kia, I see many more Kias in my local Waitrose amongst the Evoques and other off roaders that I ever do a contemporary Volvo.
Volvo have put the cart before the horse, they have surely to wait for the launch and hopeful acclaim of their new platform cars and the 4 pot engines before they walk away from their present market segment.
The provenance of the peers to whom they aspire has come from many years trading in so-called premium vehicles.
Only yesterday we have been told of Volvo local UK management's ill informed, stupid and parochial positioning of their peerless dealer in Chippenham as just a service dealer.
This privately owned and managed business is a shining light in the Volvo owning community that looks after its staff and customers alike and Volvo's loss of their new car sales in the coming months will be impossible to replace in the short term. Though Volvo do have a Bristol dealership with a poor aftermarket reputation but they do operate from a premium portacabin.
One lucky winner in this is Subaru who have quickly appointed MRG as their dealer in that area. They have a somewhat quirky image but one hell of a reputation for build quality that no premium brand can match.....certainly not Volvo.
Volvo will only be known as a 'premium' brand when their customers say so, and that will be based on their longer term experiences
Through contacts in Sweden and following a north American forum it seems that Volvo management in Sweden who must influence some of this are currently working their business towards a future not dissimilar to Saab.
Hopefully not.......
Don.
Edited by norchi on Tuesday 22 October 12:23
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