Tuesday 19th October 2010

Volvo To Redefine Image: Golf Rival Is The Start

Five-door Golf rival will come ahead of XC90 replacement as Volvo focuses on 'luxury'

---

Volvo will put a five-door Golf and Focus rival on the market by 2012, says the company's new boss Stefan Jacoby, at the expense of a replacement for the XC90 SUV - which has been postponed.

Word on the webosphere is that Jacoby and Volvo's new owners Geely want to push the brand up to an annual volume of 800,000 cars in the next 10 years - it chucked out 350,000 cars in 2009.

30 per cent of that will come from China - where Volvo is planning to build a new factory. In a remarkable bout of refreshing and straightforward honesty, Jacoby also admitted that Volvo needs to work on its brand image.

"We need to focus on luxury. I don't believe in the word 'premium,'" he says. "It sounds like you are making people pay for something they do not necessarily get. Volvo has lost its distinguishing points as a product. You can immediately recognize you are sitting in a BMW or an Audi for example, and I don't think Volvo is there yet."

That means the new Golf rival will get a new corporate 'face'. "A new face is something we are looking at. We need a more distinguishing front end, and this will be the first step in our new models," says Jacoby.

Building boxy estates that can carry an entire Battersea Dog's Home-worth of Labradors, Stefan - that's where Volvo's image is strongest. Then taking them racing. There's your distinguishing points...

[collateral]

Jaguar-esque rebrandy thing incoming?

[BlueMR2]

I wonder if they will go back to RWD.

[Mr Dave]

I cannot think of a car company that has truely sucessfully redfined it's image sucessfully. Those that do do not last and those that dont try to change the brand seem to do well.

I thought Volvos latest incarnation was a redefined image anyway?

[Stu R]

I hope they don't soften the front end looks any further. I like them as they are but I'd hate them to go for the bland jelly mould design wise. No more rounded than they are presently, and put a stop to that melting face thing they seem to be moving towards.

I know many people consider 'Volvo' and 'bland' to be synonymous but I've become quite a fan of late. Making them RWD would be amazing I agree. (this might have something to do with my current fancying of a cheap ovlov for hauling bikes and dogs around).

Trying to take sales away from the German manufacturers is all well and good, so long as they exercise caution and don't spoil the line-up in doing so.
I like the guys honesty, but deciphering the BS sales speak - putting more influence on luxury means putting bigger numbers on the price to recover what was spent on nicer plastics and wood, then they go spending a fortune on product placement and marketing, and hope to change peoples opinions/ perceptions of the brand by driving up the price (big price = better brand, right?). Then comes the 'introducing new models to fit where the old ones once did' phase, closely followed by the attacking of every niche and creating a few more along the way.
Put simply...I really hope they do something a bit more original and interesting and don't just pollute the brand with an over-involved marketing department given free reign.

I don't think they're doing anything badly at the minute, so I'm intrigued to see what lies ahead beyond the Golf rival (which would surely just be an updated C30?), but it's good to see they're investing, and not just milking the company.

[dudleybloke]

my mates got an 07 plate c30 5 cyl and apart from the totaly useless boot its a great car.
looks better than the new scirocco in my opinion.

[anonymous-user]

So I'm guessing it will just be a 5 door c30.

Already a very good looking car, just a bit expensive and doesnt have as much room as the rivalsx.

[y2blade]

the C30 is a cracking car, it is what I'm considering next actually

a five door one would be a real bonus as the doors are very long on the current model (it is sometimes awkward to get in and out in tight spaces)


just seen this elsewhere

---Volvo has confirmed plans to produce a five-door version of its C30 hatchback, a new report finds. The new vehicle -- possibly dubbed the C50 or V30-- should give the brand a volume boost. Volvo officials have stated that they are impressed with early C30 sales in most countries.
"The five-door would be less exciting from a design perspective," Volvo senior vice president of r&d, Magnus Jonsson, told Automotive News earlier this year, "but we're looking to expand."---

[neilpurves]

It would help if Volvo made thier naming a bit more obvious. I am not sure if there is any logic to the current mix of letters and numbers but it sure ain't something that sticks like 3-series, C-Class or A4 (all of which I have owned)?
The "safe but boxy" brand image of Volvo in the past was killed in a previous rebranding but the "safe but not boxy" brand does not roll off the tongue so well?!! Jaguar's current re-branding is excellent in my opinion and I think that the figures speak for themselves. I beleive however that the change has come from the Ian Callum led design team and the beleif in them from management. Look at most iconic cars and they where different in their day. When something is no longer different then bland is the result.
Step up to the plate Volvo design team. Convince management that different is good (oh and do something about the naming while you are at it?).
If that happens I may look at Volvo in the future (although Jag is now top of my "what next" list.

[dafeller]

I'm trying to resolve he headline: since when does creating a luxury image mean competing with a Golf?

[Wadeski]

Mr Dave said:

I cannot think of a car company that has truely sucessfully redfined it's image sucessfully. Those that do do not last and those that dont try to change the brand seem to do well.

I thought Volvos latest incarnation was a redefined image anyway?

Cadillac (coffin cruisers to a BMW rival)
Audi (cheap quirky family cars to a luxury brand)
Skoda (say no more....)

[Fittster]

Mr Dave said:

I cannot think of a car company that has truely sucessfully redfined it's image sucessfully. Those that do do not last and those that dont try to change the brand seem to do well.

I thought Volvos latest incarnation was a redefined image anyway?

BMW and Alfa have gone down market very successfully. Look at the cars the were producing pre-war.

[kambites]

Mr Dave said:

I cannot think of a car company that has truely sucessfully redfined it's image sucessfully. Those that do do not last and those that dont try to change the brand seem to do well.

Skoda? And more recently, Kia seem to be doing a pretty good job of it.

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 19th October 08:36

[LuS1fer]

Renault reinvented themselves via NCAP and their Sport offerings though god knows what the multi-coloured crap they're producing now is. That Volvo looks like a Renault to me.

What I would like to see is some clean, iconic, boxy styling like the Mk 1 Golf, with larger windows and a square-cut jib you can see out of.

[kambites]

LuS1fer said:

What I would like to see is some clean, iconic, boxy styling like the Mk 1 Golf, with larger windows and a square-cut jib you can see out of.

And 0.5 stars in the NCAP tests? Wouldn't bother me, but I don't think many people would view it as a worthwhile trade off.

[LuS1fer]

kambites said:

LuS1fer said:

What I would like to see is some clean, iconic, boxy styling like the Mk 1 Golf, with larger windows and a square-cut jib you can see out of.

And 0.5 stars in the NCAP tests? Wouldn't bother me, but I don't think many people would view it as a worthwhile trade off.

I'm not sure it follows. the Mustang though not NCAP tested had very good crash test results in the US. It's not impossible to get a good result using plastic panels.

[kambites]

LuS1fer said:

kambites said:

LuS1fer said:

What I would like to see is some clean, iconic, boxy styling like the Mk 1 Golf, with larger windows and a square-cut jib you can see out of.

And 0.5 stars in the NCAP tests? Wouldn't bother me, but I don't think many people would view it as a worthwhile trade off.

I'm not sure it follows. the Mustang though not NCAP tested had very good crash test results in the US. It's not impossible to get a good result using plastic panels.

The problem is the pedestrian tests - sharp corners don't go well with not cutting pedestrians in half and you need enough clearance over the engine to avoid their heads hitting the block.

The other problem is pillar strength. I guess it's quite hard to stop the car folding up on itself without having very thick windscreen pillars to complete the safety cell. I suppose you basically have to reinforce the floor as you would for a cabriolet, which means a lot of weight. Also where do you put your curtain airbags if you have a thin, flat, roof? Some modern cars even have airbags in the A-pillars IIRC.

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 19th October 08:46

[Engineer1]

Volvo's naming conventions make as much sense as Audi's, a C something is a Coupe, an S is a saloon, a V is an estate, the numbers give you an idea of relative size, Also starting with 30, 40 or 50 gives you the ability to slot a small car in below. Look at the problems Peugeot have with their naming convention now they have a 107, 1007, 207, 307, etc

[Mastodon2]

If they just put the Polestar into production they'd have a great starting point to add some sportyness to the brand. I think it would sell well, and every review I read of it said it was a fantastic car.



I hope at the very least they learn from this very well received exercise and use Polestar as a brand in the same way Ford use ST/RS, Subaru use STi, Vauxhall use VXR, BMW use ///Msport etc.

[LuS1fer]

Why do all these cars have to look the same - like some second-rate Kia?

[Finlandia]

BlueMR2 said:

I wonder if they will go back to RWD.

Can't see that happening. Above all Volvo is about safety, and in Sweden RWD = hazardous handling