Volvo dealers just want the good times to go on

Volvo dealers expressed a list of concerns at their make meeting, but almost all of them stemmed from a single concern — Anders Gustafsson is stepping down as CEO of Volvo Car USA.

Volvo dealers have enjoyed a heyday with higher profits, better sales per store, good product mixes and good communications with the global decision-makers in Gothenberg, Sweden, said Ernie Norcross, chairman of the Volvo Retail Advisory Board. "And dealers are concerned about the change in continuity," he said. "Anders has helped us. We're on a profit run. We want to make sure things continue."

The meeting was punctuated by applause as Gustafsson recapped the brand's improvements over the past five years, including a doubling of sales volume, a doubling of used-car sales and a 52 percent increase in service business. Factory officials repeatedly reassured dealers that business will carry on the same under Mike Cottone, a 21-year Volvo veteran and Western Region vice president, who will take over Gustafsson's top job for the U.S. and Canada on March 1.

"We are 100 percent behind Mike," said Norcross, owner of Volvo Cars Memphis in Tennessee, after the meeting. "He's an American," and that will be good for Volvo's North American dealer network, he said.

The U.S. dealer network has raised worries in the past that Volvo management in Gothenberg has indicated its interest in developing factory-direct sales in Europe — a business model that would violate state dealer franchise laws in the U.S. Norcross lauded Gustafsson's role in communicating U.S. dealer resistance to that idea to Volvo management.

Dealers also received reassurance that two planned model launches will go smoothly this year, despite months of industrywide production problems and vehicle ordering troubles caused by a shortage of microchips. Volvo said the launches will be on schedule.

The first new product will be the EX90, an electric seven-seat crossover, followed by a small electric crossover called the EX30.