Volvo

Volvo marketing boss Speck is leaving; sales VP Visser named successor

May 24, 2013 16:03 CET
Doug Speck, Volvo's senior vice president for marketing, sales and customer service, is leaving his post effective July 1, the company said today. Speck, 54, will be replaced by Alain Visser, 49, vice president of sales and marketing, the company said.... Read More »

 

Volvo marketing boss Speck is leaving; sales VP Visser named successor

10:03 am U.S. ET | May 24, 2013
Doug Speck, Volvo's senior vice president for marketing, sales and customer service, is leaving his post effective July 1, the company said today. Speck, 54, will be replaced by Alain Visser, 49, vice president of sales and marketing, the company said.... Read More »

 

GABE NELSON

Audi gripes, but Tesla could be en route to niche-brand success

3:59 pm U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Audi wants to be clear: Just because the Tesla Model S is outselling Audi's flagship A8 in the U.S. luxury sedan market, it does not mean Tesla Motors is beating Audi.... Read More »

 

Volvo jabs Germans, stresses sensible luxury

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 13, 2013
Volvo's new brand awareness campaign pokes fun at German competitors, touting Volvos as less flashy and more sensible.... Read More »

 

Volvo's operating profit slumps in 2012

May 3, 2013 15:59 CET
Volvo aims to break even on an operating level this year without help from one-off gains that kept the carmaker in the black in 2012. Volvo's operating profit fell to $2.76 million in 2012.... Read More »

 

SHANGHAI AUTO SHOW

Volvo CEO: Luxury car clashes with image

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 29, 2013
Volvo will not develop a flagship sedan to challenge the BMW 7 series, Mercedes-Benz S class or Audi A8. Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson said such a flagship doesn't fit Volvo's green image.... Read More »

 

Volvo CEO says making S-class rival would contradict brand's image

April 22, 2013 10:29 CET
Volvo won't develop a sedan to challenge the BMW 7 series, Mercedes S class and Audi A8 as it doesn't fit the carmaker's green image or the demands of its customers, CEO Hakan Samuelsson said.... Read More »

 

Volvo CEO sees more tough times for Europe

April 19, 2013 09:05 CET
Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson is bracing for more tough times in Europe, where the automaker's sales fell 15 percent in the first quarter. Samuelsson expects growing sales in China and a rebound in the United States will result in flat overall vehicle sales for the year.... Read More »

 

Volvo to report big operating loss in China, paper says

April 18, 2013 11:07 CET
Volvo is set to report an operating loss in China for 2012 of between 2 billion to 4 billion Swedish crowns ($308 million to $615 million) as weak car sales and a costly new factory weighed on results, a Swedish daily newspaper reported on Thursday.... Read More »

 

Volvo, Costco partner to sell 2013-14 lineup

3:48 pm U.S. ET | April 12, 2013
Volvo Cars of North America is teaming up with Costco to allow the warehouse club's members to purchase or lease models from the automaker's 2013-14 lineup at prearranged pricing.... Read More »

 

APRIL FOOLS' NEWS

Today's innovations: In-vehicle hair care, dating app, more

2:31 pm U.S. ET | April 1, 2013
The auto industry was full of revolutionary technology and new product announcements today. Honda and BMW said they are carving out new niches by putting hair-care and dating technologies at busy drivers' fingertips. Subaru announced a new BRZ variant and Volvo heralded a new safety system.... Read More »

 

NEW PRODUCT

Volvo will launch XC90 successor next year

March 27, 2013 16:08 CET
Volvo will introduce a successor to the XC90 in late 2014, CEO Hakan Samuelsson said. The model will be the first all-new vehicle launched by Volvo as a unit of China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.... Read More »

 

2013 NEW YORK AUTO SHOW

Volvo to re-enter wagon market with V60 in early '14

8:00 am U.S. ET | March 27, 2013
Volvo will return to the U.S. station wagon market in early 2014 after a two-year hiatus with the V60. Volvo decided not to offer the compact V60 in the United States when the vehicle was redesigned for the 2011 model year. But dealers have been lobbying for the wagon because of its appeal in Europe -- where the styling has been popular -- and a general shift among U.S. consumers toward smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles.... Read More »

 

RETAIL

Volvo's China unit hit by dealer cheating

March 22, 2013 06:01 CET
Volvo has uncovered widespread cheating by its car dealers in China, where retailers inflated sales to win cash rebates from the company for hitting volume targets.... Read More »

 

Volvo wins approval to produce in China, report says

4:34 am U.S. ET | March 19, 2013
Volvo Cars, the Swedish carmaker owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., won the approval of China's main industry planner to begin making vehicles in the country, three people familiar with the matter said.... Read More »

 

Volvo said to win China approval to begin local car production

March 19, 2013 07:04 CET
Volvo is said to have won the approval of China's main industry planner to begin making vehicles in the country. The automaker, which is owned by China's Geely, has set itself the target of boosting local sales to 200,000 by 2020 from 41,989 last year.... Read More »

 

China passes Sweden as Volvo's No. 2 market

March 12, 2013 09:46 CET
Volvo sold 8,719 vehicles in China in January and February to establish China as Volvo's second-biggest market after the United States. Sales in China were strong enough to outpace Sweden, where Volvo sold 6,847 units in the first two months.... Read More »

 

Volvo may add models to aid struggling dealers

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 11, 2013
Volvo says it will come to the aid of struggling U.S. dealers by bolstering its lineup, increasing margins and spending more on marketing. The company will decide in the next quarter whether to reverse a decision not to sell the V60 station wagon in the United States.... Read More »

 

2013 GENEVA AUTO SHOW

For Volvo, 4 refreshed nameplates to carry load for a while

3:24 pm U.S. ET | March 5, 2013
Volvo is counting on four refreshed nameplates and a new safety feature to help sustain sales until the brand can launch a more complete overhaul of its lineup in a few years.... Read More »

 

Volvo promotes China manufacturing head Danielson to regional chief

March 1, 2013 12:21 CET
Volvo has promoted China manufacturing boss Lars Danielson to its top job in the key market, where the automaker plans a major sales push this decade.... Read More »

 

NICK GIBBS

XC90 delay irks Volvo CEO

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 22, 2013
Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson is not happy that the automaker has waited more than a decade to debut a new XC90, which was once the brand's best seller. Global sales of the XC90 fell 21 percent last year. Demand is not expected to rebound until the all-new XC90 goes on sale in early 2015.... Read More »

 

NICK GIBBS

XC90 delay irks Volvo CEO

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 22, 2013
Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson is not happy that the automaker has waited more than a decade to introduce a new XC90, which was once the brand's best seller. Global sales of the XC90 fell 21 percent last year. Demand is not expected to rebound until the all-new XC90 goes on sale in early 2015.... Read More »

 

Volvo purges more Ford influences

Feb. 21, 2013 09:00 CET
Volvo is distancing itself further from its Ford legacy as it prepares to launch a new range of in-house engines and a modular platform. The first engine will be a four-cylinder unit that will debut before the end of this year while the all-new XC90 large SUV that arrives late next year will be the first to use Volvo's scalable platform architecture.... Read More »

 

Volvo plans to cut 1,000 jobs to reduce costs

Feb. 20, 2013 18:21 CET
Volvo will cut 1,000 more jobs and save more than $200 million to reach breakeven this year after sales and Chinese growth have lagged.... Read More »

 

Volvo, Geely will establish joint R&D center in Sweden

Feb. 20, 2013 13:50 CET
Volvo and its Chinese parent Geely will set up a joint research and development center in Sweden to produce technology for new cars from both carmakers.... Read More »